Josie Bruce
Josie Bruce was born in the summer of 1951 in a council house on a post-war ‘pre-fabricated’ housing estate in rural Essex. The estate had been hastily erected a few years earlier to accommodate the thousands of displaced Londoners who had been made homeless during World War II.
She was, however, born as Margaret, daughter of a Scottish father and East End of London mother, and she chose to use a pen name for her writing, inspired by her love of dogs. This love was discovered late in life, after Josie’s retirement from a senior administrative career, and a tentative approach to the adoption of dogs – two rescue Lurchers in 2009. Her pen name honours a brother and sister Dachshund (Joey and Rosy) and a larger-than-life Bull Lurcher, named Bruce.
Josie’s mother, Rose, had been a shorthand/typist before her marriage, and her family managed a pub. Rose’s mother, aunt and brother-in-law were killed when the pub took a direct hit during a bombing of East London Docks, and all personal belongings and mementoes were lost. Josie’s father, William (Bill), was in the Scots Guards, stationed in London and Surrey, until he was demobbed in 1947.
Josie has 4 siblings, all older than her; three brothers and one sister. There is a two-year gap between each sibling, with her sister being the eldest. Being the youngest was not easy for Josie. Her father worked long, physically demanding shifts and her mother went to work to bring in more money as soon as Josie started school. Her siblings had many interests, but none of them included her.
Josie was always a little lost. At school she excelled, but did not make friends. She immersed herself in books and would set challenges. One challenge was to read 100 pages of War and Peace by Tolstoy each day, during the first two weeks of a summer school break. There were 1400 pages in the edition. Some chapters were challenging with seemingly endless pages of dates, so she read it again.
Josie’s essays at school were often commended and she enjoyed writing but had a problem with timed writing – exams were a nightmare as she could write for hours. She lacked the confidence to believe that an audience wider than her English Teacher would want to read her work, but then she won a competition for a fully-funded leadership course in London. The award was based on a themed short essay. When she attended the celebratory ceremony, she was thrown by the admiration of her essay and the fact that she was asked if she was a writer. This sowed a seed of ‘well, perhaps I could write.”
Josie has been married twice and has two adult boys. Her first marriage ended when her husband had a serious road traffic accident and she lives with her second husband, John, and always a number of canine companions.
Josie has experienced life-changing illnesses since 2018, including breast cancer, Polymyalgia Rheumatica and chronic neuropathy and knows that each day counts. She intends to write as much as she can, to fulfil one aspect of her life, and particularly for the enjoyment of her readers.
My Favourite Quotations
Voltaire
The Rover pt. 2 1681
The Spectator no 215 1711
Motto of the American Christopher Society
Mid 16th Century
Attributed to Mohammed Ali
Gallery
jewisheastend.com/Philip Walker
Mohammed Ali