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Bruce as Mentor

I am so saddened to hear of Bruce’s passing. 

I’ll always remember his kindness in mentoring me as a very young Militaria collector.  I was only about 15 or so and Bruce was a friend of my father Harold.  Knowing how keen I was on history dad took me out to meet Bruce.  I was so impressed with Bruce’s knowledge of military history and weaponry through the ages.   We talked for hours.  It was an evening I’ve never forgotten.  At the end of the visit Bruce asked me if I’d be interested in attending a Military Collectables Show in Oshawa that weekend.  I jumped at the chance and I accompanied Bruce and his friend Gary to several more collector shows over the next couple of years.  To a fifteen year old, hanging around with a guy who had re-jigged a German 37mm anti-tank gun to shoot .22 calibre rounds at groundhogs in farmers’ fields was beyond cool.  As the years passed we grew out of touch, but whenever I chanced to encounter Bruce over the intervening forty years or so it was always a real pleasure to chat with him again. He was always very patient, gracious and eager to share his knowledge.  I have Bruce to thank in large measure for fostering my own love of history and for the many hours of enjoyment I’ve had in collecting pieces of our military history and understanding their stories.

Bruce was a great guy and it saddens me to know that the opportunities for those chance encounters with him have come to an end.

Posted by Steve Nichol
Wednesday March 18, 2015 at 8:26 pm
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