Bruce Hay of Hayfield (1952-2015)

Bruce died suddenly, aged 63, following a tragic accident at the end of April.

He was born in Bedford in January 1952 to Malcolm and Alison Hay.  When he was very young they  moved up to Aberdeenshire to live in Barra Castle, near to Malcolm's elder brother Jock, who was at Delgatie  A few years later the family moved south, and Bruce lived nearly all his life in Surrey, Sussex and Oxfordshire.

Bruce had a degree in biology and taught for a short time at a boys' school.  But he had two greater interests: one was property development, where he showed an early skill in managing and renovating a wide range of buildings in Southern England.  The other was politics - at 25 years old Bruce was elected in Petworth as the youngest county councillor in the UK, a position he held for eight years.  He also maintained a lively interest in the army, a career he would love to have pursued like his father, whom he greatly admired and respected.

In the 1980s he matriculated the family arms of Hay of Hayfield - he bore these arms with pride and dignity.  Since he never married and had no children, the Hayfield arms will now pass to his nephew.

A regular attendee at Aboyne and other Clan functions, Bruce maintained a friendly and independent spirit.  He was always amusing company, interested and interesting, and with a mischievous sense of humour.  He will be greatly missed.