The Earl of Elgin | |
---|---|
11th Earl of Elgin | |
Tenure | 1968–present |
Full name | Andrew Douglas Alexander Thomas Bruce |
Other titles | Lord Bruce (1924–1968) |
Born | Andrew Douglas Alexander Thomas Bruce, Lord Bruce 17 February 1924 Broomhall House, Fife, Scotland [1] |
Residence | Broomhall House, nr. Dunfermline, Scotland |
Offices | Chief of Clan Bruce Lord Lieutenant of Fife Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland |
Spouse(s) | Victoria Usher (m. 1959;died 2024) |
Issue | 5, including Adam |
Parents | Edward Bruce, 10th Earl of Elgin Katherine Cochrane |
Military career | |
Allegiance | United Kingdom |
Service | British Army |
Years of service | 1943–46, 1951–65, 1976–86 |
Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
Service number | 293466 |
Unit | Scots Guards |
Battles / wars | Second World War |
Awards | Order of the Thistle Canadian Forces' Decoration |
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. [2]
Elgin was born in 1924 at the family seat, Broomhall House, in Fife, the eldest son of the 10th Earl of Elgin and Katherine Elizabeth, Countess of Elgin, daughter of the 1st Baron Cochrane of Cults. The arrival of a male heir following the births of two daughters, Lady Martha and Lady Jean, created tremendous celebration at the Broomhall estate, which included a bonfire and fireworks attended by crowds of villagers from Limekilns and Charlestown. He was styled Lord Bruce from birth [3] and christened at Broomhall on 31 March 1924 by his great-uncle Rev. Henry Holmes Stewart. [4] His five god-parents were Field Marshal Earl Haig, his uncle the Hon. Thomas Cochrane, Sir Alexander Gibb; Lord Elgin's elder sister, Lady Elisabeth Babington Smith; and Lady Victoria Cavendish-Bentinck, daughter of the Duke of Portland. [5]
He was educated at Eton and at Balliol College, Oxford.
On 12 September 1943, Bruce was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 3rd (Armoured) Bn Scots Guards [6] [7] and was wounded during Operation Bluecoat, the breakout from Normandy in August 1944. He was invalided out of the army on 24 October 1946, with the honorary rank of lieutenant. [8]
On 4 April 1951, he was appointed an instructor in the Army Cadet Force, with the rank of Lieutenant. [9] In July 1963, by then the County Cadet Commandant for Fife, he was awarded the Cadet Forces Medal. [10] He resigned his commission on 19 April 1965, retaining the honorary rank of lieutenant-colonel. [11] [12] Since 1970, he has been Colonel-in-Chief of the 31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgins), [13] and was Honorary Colonel of the 153 (Highland) Transport Regiment from 1976 to 1986.
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 also President of the Royal Scottish Automobile Club. [14]
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. [15] In 1981 HM The Queen appointed him as a Knight of the Thistle. [16] He was awarded the Canadian Forces' Decoration in 1981. 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. [17]
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. [18]
Lord Elgin is Chief of Clan Bruce and President of the Bruce Family Organization [19] which is the main association for members of the Bruce family.
Country | Ribbon | Description | Notes |
Scotland | Order of the Thistle (KT) |
| |
United Kingdom | 1939–1945 Star | ||
United Kingdom | France and Germany Star | ||
United Kingdom | Defence Medal | ||
United Kingdom | War Medal | ||
United Kingdom | Queen Elizabeth II Coronation Medal |
| |
United Kingdom | Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal |
| |
United Kingdom | Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal |
| |
United Kingdom | Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal |
| |
United Kingdom | Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Medal |
| |
United Kingdom | King Charles III Coronation Medal |
| |
United Kingdom | Cadet Forces Medal |
| |
United Kingdom | Canadian Forces' Decoration (CD) |
|
Military Branch | Date | Regiment | Position |
---|---|---|---|
Canadian Army | 1970 –present | 31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgins) | Colonel-in-Chief [20] |
British Army | 1976–1986 | 153 (Highland) Transport Regiment (TA) | Honorary Colonel |
Canadian Army | No. 7 (St. Thomas) Royal Canadian Army Cadets | Honorary Colonel | |
In 1959 he married Victoria Mary Usher and they have five children:
The Countess of Elgin and Kincardine was the Patron of both the Royal Caledonian Ball and Edinburgh’s Queen Margaret University. [23] The Earl succeeded to the earldoms and other family titles on the death of his father in 1968.[ citation needed ]
The Earl celebrated his 100th birthday on the 17 February 2024. [24] He was interviewed by the BBC as part of a project to record the memories of Second World War veterans, marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day on 6 June 2024. [25]
On 15 November 2024, Bruce's wife of 65 years, Victoria, Countess of Elgin, died aged 85. [26]
Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin and 11th Earl of Kincardine,, often known as Lord Elgin, was a Scottish nobleman, diplomat, and collector, known primarily for the controversial procurement of marble sculptures from the Parthenon and other structures on the Acropolis of Athens.
Maud Carnegie, Countess of Southesk, titled Princess Maud from 1905 to 1923, was a granddaughter of Edward VII. Maud and her elder sister, Alexandra, had the distinction of being the only female-line descendants of a British sovereign officially granted both the title of Princess and the style of Highness.
David George Coke Patrick Ogilvy, 13th Earl of Airlie, was a Scottish landowner, soldier, banker and peer.
Albert Edward John Spencer, 7th Earl Spencer,, styled The Honourable Albert Spencer until 1910 and Viscount Althorp from 1910 to 1922, and known less formally as Jack Spencer, was a British peer. He was the paternal grandfather of Diana, Princess of Wales.
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Fife.
Robert Alexander Lindsay, 29th Earl of Crawford, 12th Earl of Balcarres, Baron Balniel,, known by courtesy as Lord Balniel between 1940 and 1975, was a Scottish hereditary peer and Conservative politician who was a member of Parliament from 1955 to 1974. He was chief of Clan Lindsay and also acted, from 1975 to 2019, as Premier Earl of Scotland.
Edward James Bruce, 10th Earl of Elgin, 14th Earl of Kincardine, was a Scottish nobleman and soldier. He was the eldest son of Victor Bruce, 9th Earl of Elgin and Lady Constance Carnegie. He was Assistant Private Secretary to the Secretary of State for the Colonies (1908–11) and a director of the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Charles Alexander Bannerman Carnegie, 11th Earl of Southesk, styled The Honourable Charles Carnegie before 1905 and Lord Carnegie between 1905 and 1941, was the husband of Princess Maud, a granddaughter of King Edward VII.
Richard Walter John Montagu Douglas Scott, 10th Duke of Buccleuch and 12th Duke of Queensberry,, styled as Lord Eskdaill until 1973 and as Earl of Dalkeith from 1973 until 2007, is a Scottish landholder and peer. He is the Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry, as well as Chief of Clan Scott. He is a descendant of James, Duke of Monmouth, the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II and his mistress, Lucy Walter, and more remotely in a direct male line from Alan of Dol, who arrived in Britain in 1066 with William the Conqueror.
Clan Wemyss is a Lowland Scottish clan.
Colonel David Lyulph Gore Wolseley Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie, was a Scottish peer, soldier and courtier. He was the father-in-law of Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy.
Sir Frederick William Adolphus Wright-Bruce, GCB was a British diplomat.
Major-General Alastair Andrew Bernard Reibey Bruce of Crionaich, is a journalist and television correspondent, and a senior British Army reservist and officer of arms in the Royal Household. He commanded the TA Media Operations Group before being appointed Governor of Edinburgh Castle in 2019.
Colonel Walter Egerton George Lucian Keppel, 9th Earl of Albemarle, was a British nobleman and soldier, styled Viscount Bury from 1894 to 1942.
General Sir Alexander Duff was a British Army officer of the Napoleonic era.
James Hubert Ramsay, 17th Earl of Dalhousie,, styled Lord Ramsay between 1950 and 1999, is a Scottish peer, courtier and landowner. He is chief of Clan Ramsay and Deputy Captain General of the King's Body Guard for Scotland. In that role, he took part in the Royal Procession at the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla.
Mary Hamilton Bruce, Countess of Elgin was the first wife of British diplomat Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin during his term as Ambassador Extraordinaire to the Ottoman Empire and one of the most influential and wealthiest heiresses of the late 18th and early 19th century.
Major-General The Honourable Robert Bruce was a British Army officer who served as Governor to the young Prince of Wales, later King Edward VII.
Broomhall House is the family seat of the Earls of Elgin, three miles south-west of Dunfermline, sitting above the village of Limekilns and near the village of Charlestown, in Fife, Scotland. The building was designated as a Category A listed building in 1971.
Lieutenant-Colonel Lady Martha Veronica Bruce was a British aristocrat, prison governor and Women's Royal Army Corps officer.