A brief History...

Wallace Cameron enjoys a rich and interesting History that led it to being one of the largest and most establish first aid manufacturers in the United Kingdom. The company was started by Lord Wallace of Campsie in 1950 with his then business partner Mr Cameron. They created in Scotland one of the most successful manufacturing companies of the past 60 years and in addition made available some of the subsequent wealth his business brought him to support public and charitable causes to which he was committed.

George Wallace attended Abbotsford Primary School and Queen’s Park Secondary School, Glasgow, then proceeded to Glasgow University, where he studied law, joining the profession as a trainee solicitor before forming his own legal firm. After serving in the RAF during the Second World War, he came to the conclusion that the law was too tame for his entrepreneurial flair. He decided, therefore, to pursue a career in the business world.He established the firm of Wallace Cameron and Company, manufacturing industrial disinfectants and first aid dressings, one of which was considered to be a technological breakthrough as it made available the power of alginate to stop bleeding.

In spite of facing tough opposition from other, well-established manufacturers, Wallace Cameron expanded rapidly, soon employing some 300 staff in the factory in Glasgow’s South Side. By 1969 the company was established internationally, with associated companies in Italy, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Wallace Cameron is the only company specialising in the manufacture of first aid dressings to have the distinction of holding a Royal Warrant, it enjoys today the unique privilege of holding a Royal Warrant from Prince Charles.

In addition to building up a successful business, Lord Wallace was simultaneously pursuing a career in public life. During the late sixties and early seventies he followed a remarkably diverse range of professional and charitable interests. He was a member of the South of Scotland Electricity Board, chairman of the Institute of Marketing, a founder member of the Scottish Development Agency, and a president of Glasgow Chamber of Commerce. Awarded a life peerage in 1974 following his re-appointment for a second term as chairman of East Kilbride Development Corporation, he took a special pride in the growth of East Kilbride, seeing it change from a quiet country village to its present status as the semi-conductor capital of Western Europe and Scotland’s most successful growth point for the attraction of new industry over the past 30 years.

Throughout a long and distinguished career, Lord Wallace remained a valued friend and committed supporter of the Salvation Army in Scotland. In 1965 he became a member of the West Scotland Advisory Board, rising in 1972 to become the board’s chairman, an office he held for 10 years.

In Scotland during the past 28 years, Lord Wallace was influential in bringing about many improvements in the facilities offered by the wide-ranging and comprehensive social welfare programmes for those in need, including children from deprived backgrounds, those afflicted by alcohol or drugs, and the elderly requiring respite care.

Today Wallace Cameron continues the passion for protecting life and the community and a long History of Innovation. It has a considerable budget to implement new standards of end user interaction and continues its journey of design, protection and invention. The company operates from Glasgow and employs more than 100 people and occupies more than 100,000 sq ft of manufacturing and warehousing facilities.