Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Obituary: Bruce McKenzie, headteacher who taught inmates at Peterhead Prison

Bruce McKenzie.

Bruce McKenzie taught soldiers in wartime Italy, and convalescing soldiers in the UK before teaching inmates of Peterhead Prison.

Along the way, Bruce, who has died aged 98, taught hundreds of primary pupils in north-east schools, from Peterhead to Arbroath.

He had a spell lecturing at Aberdeen College of Education, and was also chairman of Bucksburn and Newshills Community Council for six years.

Bruce Carnegie McKenzie, was born in Arbroath, the son of James and Jemima McKenzie.

His father worked in manufacturing in Arbroath, having previously served with the police in Shanghai.

Early years

He was educated at Inverbrothock Primary School and then Arbroath High School.

After leaving school he began work in a gentlemen’s outfitters in Arbroath and was later transferred to the firm’s Greenock branch.

Soon he received his call-up papers and, on December 31, 1941, he was conscripted into the Royal Artillery as part of the 8th Army. He began as a gunner and was promoted to sergeant during the course of the war.

Bruce McKenzie during his war service.

Bruce saw action throughout the North Africa campaign, was part of the invasion force in Italy and fought at the Battle of Monte Cassino.

At the end of hostilities, Bruce was transferred to the 8th Army’s education corps as an instructor where he taught soldiers before they returned to their homes.

During his time as an instructor sergeant he taught at Bellagio, Perugia and Palace of Caserta near Naples.

Around this time, a party from the Scottish Education Department came out from the UK to Italy to interview prospective teachers.

Return to Scotland

Bruce went to Milan for the interview, was repatriated in 1946 and then posted to Royal Scots Barracks at Penicuik where he received word that he had been provisionally accepted for teacher training.

In December 1946, he was demobbed and the following month he began teacher training at Queen’s College, Dundee, then part of St Andrews University.

A placement at Arbroath High School teaching English was followed by his first teaching post at Inverbrothock primary in the town.

In Arbroath he met his future wife, Sheila Elizabeth Clunie of Dundee, who was a nurse at the town’s infirmary.

Bruce McKenzie in his younger years.

They married in Dundee in 1950 by which time Bruce has secured a post as headteacher of Blackhills School, Peterhead, and the newly married couple moved into the adjacent schoolhouse.

Bruce later took charge of Burnhaven primary in Peterhead and part of his responsibilities was the education of prison inmates in English and maths.

His daughter, Gail, said he was very proud of many of his pupils.

Bruce later became headteacher at Fraserburgh North school where he remained until the family moved to Aberdeen.

Lecturer

He was in charge of Scotstown primary, Cults and Middlefield and also lectured in the methods department of Aberdeen College of Education.

A man of strong faith, Bruce was a member of the Church of Scotland and had served as an elder since 1951, latterly at Newhills Parish Church.

In 1983, when he was 60, Bruce left education but did not feel ready for retirement so he spent five years in the hotel trade organising events and driving buses.

During his retirement, Bruce and Sheila enjoyed many holidays in the UK and around the world. In addition to his his community council work, Bruce also enjoyed golf, bowling and walking his dog.

He is survived by his wife Sheila, son Neil and daughter Gail, two grandchildren and five great-grandsons.