I've always had an interest in machinery

About this recording

Bruce was named after his late uncle, John Bruce Tait, who was killed in action on D-Day - he was the second officer on a landing craft that brought tanks and soldiers ashore at Sword beach.

In this interview, Bruce talks about his family’s involvement in the herring industry and also tells how his father, Edward Tait, a marine engineer, was employed in a workshop at the bottom of the Black Stairs - close to the scene of the Bank Row bombing in July 1940.

“I was always round about the harbour because there was plenty doing,” Bruce says.

Bruce left school at 15 and was taken on as a craft apprentice at Dounreay. He would go on to work at the site for 45 years, latterly as design office manager / senior design engineer on the mechanical side.

He explains: “I've been in engineering all my life and in between times I’ve always had my own workshop where I’ve pursued an interest in anything that moves, basically! And I’m still doing that to this day.”

Bruce has been involved in Caithness and Sutherland Vintage and Classic Vehicle Club for many years, attending the annual rally which now takes place at John O’Groats. He served as secretary of the club for a time.

Bruce owns a number of classic vehicles, including a 1939 Allis-Chalmers tractor, a 1948 MG car and a 1955 AJS motorbike. He explains that he always likes to have one rebuild project on the go at any one time.

In 2017, when Anne Dunnett stood down as Lord-Lieutenant of Caithness, Bruce drove her from her home in Wick to a retirement event in Mackays Hotel in a 1927 Model T Ford, complete with a police escort.

Bruce also tells of his time as a volunteer with Wick RNLI, serving as launch authority and lifeboat operations manager.

Photos:

The gallery photos show Bruce Tait alongside his 1948 MG at the Caithness and Sutherland Vintage and Classic Vehicle Club annual rally at John O’Groats in June 2019; and attending a commemorative event in June 2024 marking the 80th anniversary of D-Day, at which he placed a poppy cross in the garden of remembrance beside Wick Town Hall in memory of his uncle, John Bruce Tait, who was killed in action in the Normandy landings.