Bruce Thomson (rugby union)

Bruce Thomson (19 November 1930 – 13 January 2020) was a Scotland international rugby union player. Thomson played as a Prop. He was also a noted bagpiper.

Amateur career
Thomson played rugby for Oxford University. He later played rugby for London Scottish.

International career
Thomson was capped for 3 times in 1953.

Medical career
Thomson became a doctor, working as a GP in Horsham, Sussex.

Bagpipes
Thomson learned the bagpipes at Aberdeen Grammar School.

After school he joined the army where he was taught by Pipe Major Donald McLeod. He composed more than 450 bagpipe tunes and performed for the Queen. He was influenced by Seumas MacNeill, Pipe Major Brian McRae and the members of The Royal Scottish Pipers Society.

Thomson published several books of his bagpipe tunes.

Later life and death
Thomson later retired to Crieff, Perthshire. He died there on 13 January 2020, at the age of 89.