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IN MEMORIUM
BRUCE PROLE (1955)
Written by Raymond Gee MRCVS BVetStds
Bruce and I were contemporaries at College and of similar ages, born in 1932 and arriving straight from school, whereas many in our year had done National Service. At Camden Town we were in the same extended social group and I recall going to the Epsom Derby with him. In those days Derby Day was on a Wednesday and was a College holiday.
I got to know Bruce a lot better when we moved to the Field Station at Streatley for our final years, as we had been booked into the same ‘digs’- in fact, a large Victorian house in the village of Cholsey, which was some three miles from the College. Another student Colin Finn was living in a caravan in the grounds of the Railway Inn, which was just across the road. At around 9:30 each evening, Colin would fire two rounds into the air from his 12-bore, as a signal that is was time to close the text books and meet for a quick beer and a natter. I remember breakfasting in the cold winter months in a cavernous dining room, which was warmed by a one-bar electric fire. We used to cycle to the College each day, but the winter of 1955 was very severe with snow and frost persisting for several weeks. We both cycled in on a couple of days, but I decided that the local bus was a better/safer option on the icy road. Bruce of course cycled. We were good friends and although I tended to be quite calm and self-effacing, Bruce was the exact opposite always stating his opinion with great confidence.
After we qualified, we, and all our contemporaries, could not wait to get stuck into practice. No worries about work/life balance – everyone I knew really enjoyed being in practice. I used to meet Bruce on 91°µÍø social occasions. After I had been in my first pr