Bruce Thomson (19 November 1930 – 13 January 2020) was a
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
international
rugby union
Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...
player. Thomson played as a
Prop
A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or screen by actors during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinc ...
.
He was also a noted bagpiper.
Rugby union career
Amateur career
Thomson played rugby for
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to th ...
. He later played rugby for
London Scottish.
International career
Thomson was capped for 3 times in 1953.
Outside of rugby
Medical career
Thomson became a doctor, working as a
GP in
Horsham, Sussex.
Bagpipes
Thomson learned the bagpipes at Aberdeen Grammar School.
After school he joined the army where he was taught by Pipe Major Donald McLeod. He composed more than 450 bagpipe tunes and performed for
the Queen
In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to:
* Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death
The Queen may also refer to:
* Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...
.
He was influenced by Seumas MacNeill, Pipe Major Brian McRae and the members of The Royal Scottish Pipers Society.
Thomson published published several books of his bagpipe tunes.
Later life and death
Thomson later retired to
Crieff, Perthshire.
He died there on 13 January 2020, at the age of 89.
References
1930 births
2020 deaths
Scottish rugby union players
Scotland international rugby union players
Rugby union props
London Scottish F.C. players
Oxford University RFC players
Sportspeople from Assam
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