Donald Hendry Bruce was born on the 23rd July 1893 in the remote Logiealmond estate in Perthshire, Scotland. The oldest of six children, his parents were slate quarrier Hugh Bruce, and his wife, Ellen.
There is little information available about Donald’s early life, but the 1911 census records that he had enlisted in the Royal Marine Light Infantry as a Private, and was based at the barracks in Deal, Kent.
By the time war broke out, Private Bruce was assigned to the battleship HMS Bulwark. Part of the Channel Fleet, she was tasked with patrolling and defending Britain’s southern coast.
On 26th November 1914, Bulwark was moored in the River Medway, close to Sheerness, and was being stocked with shells and ammunition. That morning, some poorly stowed cordite charges overheated, detonating the shells stored nearby. The resulting explosion ripped through the battleship, and more than 740 crew were killed. Donald’s body was among those recovered: he was 21 years of age.
Those who were killed in the explosion were buried in the naval section of Woodlands Cemetery, Gillingham, Kent. As his body had been identified, Donald Hendry Bruce was laid to rest in a marked grave.
