Maclean was born on 5 May 1916 in London, to Major Hector Fitzroy Maclean (1873–1932) and Winifred Joan Wilding (c1875-1941), daughter of J. H. Wilding. He succeeded as the 27th Chief of
Clan Maclean of Duart in 1936 at the death of his grandfather,
Sir Fitzroy Maclean, 10th Baronet. He married (Joan) Elizabeth Mann (1923–2021), granddaughter of
Sir Edward Mann, 1st Baronet, of Thelveton Hall in 1941. They had two children and eight grandchildren: • The Hon.
Lachlan Hector Charles Maclean (b. 1942); married with issue, including the heir to the baronetcy • The Hon. Janet Elizabeth Maclean (b. 1944); married with issue He saw active service in
World War II while serving in the 3rd Battalion
Scots Guards. He fought in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. After the war ended he became a sheep and cattle farmer in Scotland. He oversaw the formation of his Advance Party and its ''
The Chief Scout's Advance Party Report'' which resulted in sweeping changes to the Boy Scouts Association and disaffection and schisms but failed to arrest enrolment losses and shifted the balance of enrolments to younger age children. The
World Organization of the Scout Movement’s committee awarded him its only distinction, the
Bronze Wolf in 1967, for exceptional services to world Scouting. He was created a
life peer as
Baron Maclean, of Duart and Morven in the County of Argyll in 1971. His first ceremonial assignment as
Lord Chamberlain was the 1972 funeral of the
Duke of Windsor. ==Honours==