Ewen Cameron Bruce
| Ewen Cameron Bruce | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ewen Cameron Bruce (of Blaen-y-cwm) |
| Born |
10 November 1890 Cheltenham, England |
| Died | 16 April 1925 (aged 34) Cheltenham, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | British Army |
| Years of service | 1916–19 |
| Rank | Major |
| Unit | Machine Gun Corps |
| Battles/wars |
First World War Russian Civil War Anglo-Irish War |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Order (forfeited) Military Cross (forfeited) Order of St. Vladimir (Russia) Cross of St.George (Russia) Order of the Rising Sun, 4th Class (Japan) |
| Other work | The Auxiliary Division of the Royal Irish Constabulary (1920) |
Major Ewen Cameron Bruce (10 November 1890 – 16 April 1925) was a British Army officer who served with the Heavy Branch of the Machine Gun Corps (Tank Corps from July 1917) during the First World War. He was awarded the Military Cross for his conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in salvaging tanks under heavy shell fire at the Battle of Messines in July 1917 which resulted in him losing his left arm to a gunshot wound. After the war, Bruce went to Russia and volunteered to command a British tank mission assisting the White Army under Pyotr Nikolayevich Wrangel to fight the Bolsheviks in the Russian Civil War. Bruce was awarded the Distinguished Service Order for his bravery during the June 1919 Battle of Tsaritsyn for single-handedly storming and capturing the fortified city of Tsaritsyn, now called Volgograd, under heavy shell fire in a single tank; this led to the successful capture of over 40,000 prisoners. The fall of Tsaritsyn is viewed "as one of the key battles of the Russian Civil War" which greatly helped the White Russian Cause. Notable historian Sir Basil Henry Liddell Hart comments that Bruce's tank action during this battle is to be seen as "one of the most remarkable feats in the whole history of the Tank Corps."
Bruce was born in Cheltenham 1890, youngest son of Barrister At Law, Alan Cameron Bruce-Pryce (1836–1909), of Blaen-y-cwm, Monknash, Glamorganshire and his second wife Susanna Mary Synnot née Maunsell. He married Eugenie Mary Alice (née Power) in 1915 and had three children; Diana Marjorie b:1916, Ewen Anthony Guy Cameron b:1917 and Eugenie Benedicta b:1921.
During his military career, Bruce was wounded five times, lost his left arm in July 1917 in France and was gassed in 1918. Bruce died on 16 April 1925 aged 34 years from double pneumonia, at Abbeyholme, Cheltenham. He was the paternal grandfather of SAS soldier and author, Charles "Nish" Bruce (1956–2002).
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