Andrew Douglas Alexander Thomas Bruce, 11th Earl of Elgin and 15th Earl of Kincardine (born 17 February 1924), styled Lord Bruce before 1968, is a Scottish peer and

Chief Chief may refer to: Title or rank Military and law enforcement * Chief master sergeant, the ninth, and highest, enlisted rank in the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force * Chief of police, the head of a police department * Chief of the boat ...

Clan Bruce Clan Bruce () is a Lowlands Scottish clan. It was a royal house in the 14th century, producing two kings of Scotland (Robert the Bruce and David II), and a disputed High King of Ireland, Edward Bruce. Origins The surname '' Bruce'' comes fro ...

Early life and education

Elgin was born in 1924 at the family seat,

Broomhall House Broomhall House is the family seat of the Earls of Elgin, 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 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 Limekilns is a historic coastal village in Fife, Scotland. It lies on the shore of the Firth of Forth, around south of Dunfermline and 13 miles (21km) northwest of Edinburgh. Limekilns has a medieval past as a fishing village, dating back t ...

and Charlestown. He was styled Lord Bruce from birth and christened at Broomhall on 31 March 1924 by his great-uncle Rev. Henry Holmes Stewart. His five god-parents were Field Marshal

Earl Haig Earl Haig is a title in the peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1919 for Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig. During the First World War, he served as commander of the British Expeditionary Force on the Western Front in France and B ...

, his uncle the Hon. Thomas Cochrane, Sir

Alexander Gibb Sir Alexander Gibb (12 February 1872 – 21 January 1958) was a British civil engineer. After serving as Civil Engineer-in-Chief to the Admiralty and Director-General of Civil Engineering at the Ministry of Transport, he established the engineeri ...

; Lord Elgin's elder sister, Lady Elisabeth Babington Smith; and Lady Victoria Cavendish-Bentinck, daughter of the

Duke of Portland Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ...

. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England *Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States *Éton, a commune in the Meuse depa ...

and at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

Military career

On 12 September 1943, Bruce was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the 3rd (Armoured) Bn

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642 in the Ki ...

and was wounded during

Operation Bluecoat Operation Bluecoat was a British offensive in the Battle of Normandy, from 30 July until 7 August 1944, during the Second World War. The geographical objectives of the attack, undertaken by VIII Corps and XXX Corps of the British Second Army ...

, the breakout from Normandy in August 1944. He was invalided out of the army on 24 October 1946, with the honorary rank of

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

. On 4 April 1951, he was appointed an instructor in the

Army Cadet Force The Army Cadet Force (ACF), generally shortened to Army Cadets, is a national Youth organisations in the United Kingdom, youth organisation sponsored by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence and the Bri ...

, with the rank of Lieutenant. In July 1963, by then the County Cadet Commandant for Fife, he was awarded the Cadet Forces Medal. He resigned his commission on 19 April 1965, retaining the honorary rank of lieutenant-colonel. Since 1970, he has been

Colonel-in-Chief Colonel-in-Chief is a ceremonial position in an army regiment. It is in common use in several Commonwealth armies, where it is held by the regiment's patron, usually a member of the royal family. Some armed forces take a light-hearted approach to ...

of the

31 Combat Engineer Regiment (The Elgins) 31 Combat Engineer Regiment (31 CER or "The Elgin's"), is a combat engineer regiment of the Canadian Military Engineers. It is part of 31 Canadian Brigade Group of the 4th Canadian Division. It consists of two squadrons: 48 Engineer Squadron in W ...

, and was Honorary Colonel of the 153 (Highland) Transport Regiment from 1976 to 1986.

Career

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. He was appointed a Justice of the Peace in 1951, was Deputy Lieutenant of Fife 1955–1987, and

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ov ...

1987–1999. In 1980, he was appointed by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

as her

Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the monarch's personal representative to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland (the Kirk), reflecting the Church's role as the national church of Scotla ...

and reappointed in 1981. In 1981 HM The Queen appointed him as a

Knight of the Thistle The Most Ancient and Most Noble Order of the Thistle is an order of chivalry associated with Scotland. The current version of the order was founded in 1687 by King James VII of Scotland, who asserted that he was reviving an earlier order. The ...

. He was awarded the

Canadian Forces' Decoration The Canadian Forces' Decoration (post-nominal letters "CD") is a Canadian award bestowed upon members of the Canadian Armed Forces who have completed twelve years of military service, with certain conditions. By convention, it is also given to t ...

in 1981. He is a former Captain of the

Royal Company of Archers The Royal Company of Archers, The King's Bodyguard for Scotland, is a ceremonial unit that serves as the Sovereign's bodyguard in Scotland—a role it has performed since 1822 during the reign of King George IV when the company provided a pers ...

and a former convenor of the

Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs The Standing Council of Scottish Chiefs (SCSC) is an organisation that represents many prominent Scottish clan chief, clan chiefs and Scottish clan chief#Chief of the Name and Arms, Chiefs of the Name and Arms in Scotland. It claims to be the pr ...

. He was County Cadet Commandant for

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

from 1952 to 1965, Brigade President of the

Boys' Brigade The Boys' Brigade (BB) is an international interdenominational Christianity, Christian youth organisation, conceived by the Scottish businessman William Alexander Smith (Boys' Brigade), Sir William Alexander Smith to combine drill and fun acti ...

from 1966 to 1985, and Grand Master Mason of Scotland from 1961 to 1965. He is a

Freeman Freeman, free men, Freeman's or Freemans may refer to: Places United States * Freeman, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Freeman, Indiana, an unincorporated community * Freeman, South Dako ...

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Barbados. Formerly The Town of Saint Michael, the Greater Bridgetown area is located within the Parishes of Barbados, parish of Saint Michael, Barbados, Saint Mic ...

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 Canadian census, ...

, Port Elgin,

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

St. Thomas, Ontario St. Thomas is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada. It gained its city charter on March 4, 1881. The city is also the seat for Elgin County, although it is independent of the county. At the time of the 2021 Census, the population of the city w ...

, and

Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan Moose Jaw is the List of cities in Saskatchewan, fourth largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada. Lying on the Moose Jaw River in the south-central part of the province, it is situated on the Trans-Canada Highway, west of Regina, Saskatchewan, Re ...

. Lord Elgin is a Past President of the

Royal Caledonian Curling Club The Royal Caledonian Curling Club (RCCC), branded as Scottish Curling is a curling club in Edinburgh, Scotland. It developed the first official rules for the sport, and is the Sport governing body, governing body of curling in Scotland. The RCCC ...

, and is the Life President of the Broomhall Curling Club. He skippered the

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

curling teams that defeated the Governor-General of Canada's teams in a series of matches in Ottawa in 1982. Lord Elgin is

and President of the Bruce Family Organization which is the main association for members of the Bruce family.

Honours

Honorary military appointments

Family

In 1959 he married Victoria Mary Usher and they have five children: *Lady Georgina Mary Bruce, (born 4 June 1960) *Charles Edward Bruce, Lord Bruce DL, (born 19 October 1961); was married (29 July 1990–1996) to Amanda Leigh Grimes ''née'' Movius with three children; Antonia Jean Bruce (born 14 December 1990), James Andrew Charles Robert Bruce, Master of Bruce (born 16 November 1991) and George Benjamin Thomas Bruce (born 5 July 1993). Bruce later married Dr Alice Enders on 5 May 2001 and, following a divorce, Sheree Cosgrove on 19 August 2023 *Lady Antonia Katherine Bruce, (born 30 August 1964); married Marcel Ballot (1989–) *The Hon. Adam Robert Bruce

CStJ The Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem (), commonly known as the Order of St John, and also known as St John International, is an order of chivalry constituted in 1888 by royal charter from Queen Victoria and dedica ...

WS, (born 18 January 1968); married Donna Maria-Sofia Giovanna Rose Granito Pignatelli di Belmonte (17 May 2003–) with two children; Robert Frederick Angelo Bruce (born 7 January 2007) and Orlando Antonio Andrew Bruce (born 12 September 2008) *The Hon. Alexander Victor Bruce, (born 31 March 1971); married Victoria M. Bythell on 26 September 1998 The

Countess Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

of Elgin and Kincardine was the

Patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of both the Royal Caledonian Ball and Edinburgh’s

Queen Margaret University Queen Margaret University is a public university located wholly within the county of East Lothian on the outskirts of Musselburgh, Scotland. It is named after the Scottish Queen Saint Margaret (1045–1093). The university can trace its ...

. The Earl succeeded to the

earldom Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

s and other family titles on the death of his father in 1968. The Earl celebrated his

100th birthday 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

on the 17 February 2024. He was interviewed by the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

as part of a project to record the memories of

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

veterans, marking the 80th anniversary of

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

on 6 June 2024. On 15 November 2024, Bruce's wife of 65 years, Victoria, Countess of Elgin, died aged 85.Victoria ELGIN Obituary
/ref>

Notes

References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, *"Who's Who" (2011 edition). A & C Black Publishers Ltd; 163rd Revised edition (6 December 2010)

External links

*
Andrew Bruce, 11th Earl of Elgin
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elgin, Andrew Bruce, 11th Earl Of 1924 births Living people Nobility from Fife 11 15 Knights of the Thistle People educated at Eton College Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Scots Guards officers British Army personnel of World War II Lord-lieutenants of Fife Boys' Brigade Scottish Freemasons Members of the Royal Company of Archers Lords High Commissioner to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

Andrew Andrew is the English form of the given name, common in many countries. The word is derived from the , ''Andreas'', itself related to ''aner/andros'', "man" (as opposed to "woman"), thus meaning "manly" and, as consequence, "brave", "strong", "c ...

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

Scottish men centenarians