Andrew Bruce, 11th Earl of Elgin

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The Right Honourable

The Earl of Elgin

KT CD JP DL
11th Earl of Elgin
Arms of Bruce, Earl of Elgin.svg
Tenure1968–present
Other titlesLord Bruce (1924–1968)
BornAndrew Douglas Alexander Thomas Bruce
(1924-02-17) 17 February 1924 (age 96)
ResidenceBroomhall House, nr. Dunfermline, Scotland
OfficesChief of Clan Bruce
Lord Lieutenant of Fife
Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Military career
AllegianceUnited Kingdom
Service/branchBritish Army
Years of service1943–46, 1951–65, 1976–86
RankColonel
Service number293466
UnitScots Guards
Battles/warsSecond World War
AwardsOrder of the Thistle
Canadian Forces Decoration
Order of St. Olav

Andrew Douglas Alexander Thomas Bruce, 11th Earl of Elgin and 15th Earl of Kincardine, KT, CD, JP, DL (born 17 February 1924), styled Lord Bruce before 1968, is a Scottish peer and Chief of Clan Bruce. [1]

Background and education[edit]

The eldest son of Edward Bruce, 10th Earl of Elgin and the Honourable Katherine Elizabeth Cochrane, daughter of the Baron Cochrane of Cults, he was educated at Eton and at Balliol College, Oxford. On 12 September 1943, Bruce was commissioned as Second Lieutenant in the 3rd (Armoured) Bn Scots Guards[2][3] and was wounded during Operation Bluecoat, the break out from Normandy in August 1944. He was invalided out of the army on 24 October 1946, with the honorary rank of lieutenant.[4] On 4 April 1951, he was appointed an instructor in the Army Cadet Force, with the rank of Lieutenant.[5] In July 1963, by then the County Cadet Commandant for Fife, he was awarded the Cadet Forces Medal.[6] He resigned his commission on 19 April 1965, retaining the honorary rank of Lieutenant-Colonel.[7][8] Since 1970, he has been Colonel-in-Chief of the 31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgins),[9] and was Honorary Colonel of the 153 (Highland) Transport Regiment from 1976 to 1986.

Lord Elgin is also the Honorary Colonel of No 7 Royal Canadian Army Cadet Corps, which is affiliated with the Elgin Regiment, but is not part of it. No 7 is the second oldest extant Corps in the Royal Canadian Army Cadets of Canada and one of only two that have colours. The Corps wears distinctive shoulder flashes backed with the Bruce tartan. (Not even the Elgin Regiment wears them.)

Career[edit]

Elgin has held a number of business appointments, including as President of the Scottish Amicable Life Assurance Society (1975–1994), and Chairman of the National Savings Committee for Scotland. He was President of the Royal Scottish Automobile Club, and the Scottish motor racing team, Ecurie Ecosse.

He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1951, was Deputy Lieutenant of Fife 1955–1987, and Lord Lieutenant 1987–1999. In 1980 he was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II as her Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and reappointed in 1981.[10] In 1982 HM The Queen installed him as a Knight of the Thistle.[11] He was awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration in 1981, and the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav in 1994. He is a former Captain of the Royal Company of Archers and a former convenor of the Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs.

He was County Cadet Commandant for Fife from 1952 to 1965, Brigade President of the Boys' Brigade from 1966 to 1985, and Grand Master Mason of Scotland from 1961 to 1965.[12]

He is a Freeman of Bridgetown, Regina, Saskatchewan, Port Elgin, Winnipeg, Manitoba, St. Thomas, Ontario, and Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Lord Elgin is a Past President of the Royal Caledonian Curling Club, and is the Life President of the Broomhall Curling Club. He skippered the Scottish curling teams that defeated the Governor-General of Canada's teams in a series of matches in Ottawa in 1982.[13]

Lord Elgin is Chief of Clan Bruce and President of the Bruce Family Organization[14] which is the main association for members of the Bruce family.

Honours[edit]

Order of the Thistle UK ribbon.png

Ribbon - 1939-45 Star.png Ribbon - France and Germany Star.png Ribbon - Defence Medal.png Ribbon - War Medal.png

Ribbon - QE II Coronation Medal.png QEII Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.png Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.png QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.png

Cadet Forces Medal ribbon.png CD-ribbon and 3 bars.png St. Olavs Orden stripe.svg

Ribbon Description Notes
Order of the Thistle UK ribbon.png Order of the Thistle (KT)
  • Knight Companion
  • 1982
Ribbon - 1939-45 Star.png 1939–1945 Star
Ribbon - France and Germany Star.png France and Germany Star
Ribbon - Defence Medal.png Defence Medal
Ribbon - War Medal.png War Medal
Ribbon - QE II Coronation Medal.png Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal
  • 1953
QEII Silver Jubilee Medal ribbon.png Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal
  • 1977
  • UK Version of this Medal
Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal ribbon.png Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal
  • 2002
  • UK Version of this Medal
QEII Diamond Jubilee Medal ribbon.png Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal
  • 2012
  • UK Version of this Medal
Cadet Forces Medal ribbon.png Cadet Forces Medal
  • July 1963
CD-ribbon and 3 bars.png Canadian Forces Decoration (CD)
  • 1981
  • With 3 Clasps
St. Olavs Orden stripe.svg Order of St. Olav
  • 1994

Family[edit]

In 1959 he married Victoria Mary Usher and they have five children:

  • Charles Edward Bruce, styled Lord Bruce, married 1990 Amanda Grimes née Movius (divorced 1996)[15]
  • The Hon. Alexander Bruce
  • The Hon. Adam Bruce
  • The Lady Georgina Bruce
  • The Lady Antonia Bruce.[16]

The Countess of Elgin is a Patron of the Royal Caledonian Ball.[17] The Earl succeeded to the earldoms and other family titles on the death of his father in 1968.[18]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ Dewar, Peter Beauclerk (2001). Burke's Landed Gentry of Great Britain: together with members of the titled and non-titled contemporary establishment Edition 19, Burke's Peerage, ISBN 0-9711966-0-5. p. 104
  2. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/21/a4538621.shtml
  3. ^ "No. 36206". The London Gazette (Supplement). 8 October 1943. p. 4499.
  4. ^ "No. 37767". The London Gazette (Supplement). 22 October 1946. p. 5256.
  5. ^ "No. 39274". The London Gazette (Supplement). 29 June 1951. p. 3613.
  6. ^ "No. 43051". The London Gazette (Supplement). 9 July 1963. p. 5882.
  7. ^ "No. 43652". The London Gazette (Supplement). 14 May 1965. p. 4854.
  8. ^ "No. 43712". The London Gazette (Supplement). 13 July 1965. p. 6726.
  9. ^ Video on YouTube
  10. ^ Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
  11. ^ List of Knights and Ladies of the Thistle
  12. ^ "Conservatives at the heart of Freemasonry". The Independent.
  13. ^ Video on YouTube
  14. ^ "www.familyofbruce.org - Family of Bruce International, Inc. - About Us". familyofbruce.org.
  15. ^ "Infamous fraudster Lady Bruce vows to return to Scotland". Deadline News.
  16. ^ "www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk". Archived from the original on 12 October 2012. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  17. ^ "Patronesses". Royal Caledonian Ball. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2013.
  18. ^ www.burkespeerage.com

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Masonic offices
Preceded by
The Earl of Eglinton 		Grand Master Mason of the
Grand Lodge of Scotland
1961 – 1965 		Succeeded by
Sir Ronald Orr-Ewing
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Sir John Gilmour 		Lord Lieutenant of Fife
1987 – 1999 		Succeeded by
Margaret Dean
Peerage of Scotland
Preceded by
Edward Bruce 		Earl of Elgin
Earl of Kincardine
1968 – present 		Incumbent
Orders of precedence in the United Kingdom
Preceded by
The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Kinnoull 		Gentlemen
The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Elgin & Kincardine 		Succeeded by
The Rt. Hon. The Earl of Wemyss & March
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