1941-2001
Father
Mother
Siblings
Norman John, Clifford George, Ronald Edward, Kenneth William, June Elsie
Married
Julie Anne Sargent/Boaden
Children
Mark Andrew, Gregory Bruce, Leah Gaye, Anthony Gordon
Bruce’s Life
Bruce was born in Tullamore on 24 October, 1941, the youngest of six children of Thelma and John Strudwick. Bruce lived at Slapdown all his life.
He was a shy boy growing up, but his smile and his infectious laugh guaranteed him a wide circle of friends. He went to school in Fifield, riding on a horse called Toby or in a sulky pulled by Myrtle. After June left school, he rode his pushbike. He enjoyed school and joined in all the sports and activities. Although after the first day, he jacked up and said he wasn’t going any more as he wanted to go droving with his dad.
Bruce was only 17 when his father died and was denied the same guidance from his father as his older brothers enjoyed but still achieved the same work ethic, skills with running a farm and love of life. Bruce continued running Slapdown with his mother and brother, Ken.
He also became John’s right-hand man spending a lot of time out at Merrimee farming, fixing machinery, breaking horses and pitching in as needed. There was a room off the kitchen at Merrimee with no interconnecting door and was not utilised effectively. One night there was an absolute commotion in the kitchen. The kids heard their father, Bruce and Ken smashing, hammering, sawing with absolute glee and laughter. The next morning, they were surprised to see the offending wall removed and a lovely living space emerge. The Strudwick boys were intrepid after a few beers!
He developed a lasting friendship with Chris and Ross Strudwick (no direct relationship) and Pank. They had many adventures growing up and used to ride pushbikes to each other’s places. As adults Chris and his army buddy, Pank used to be frequent visitors to Slapdown and used to assist with harvest and other farm work.
Bruce loved a joke, loved to torment everybody. He was known to tie the little girls’ bangles to their hair, but he was always full of fun and laughter. He endeared himself to his nieces and nephews with his pranks, turning up at any time without notice and just being himself. They loved and respected him.
Bruce loved a game of tennis and enjoyed playing at the Kelvin Grove, Tullamore and other tennis clubs in the surrounding district. He loved to go to dances but seldom ventured past the door. He just loved the company of others.
He married Julie Sargent/Boaden and with her two children, Mark and Gregory created a family at Slapdown. They were then blessed with two more children, Leah and Anthony to complete the family.
Bruce taught his kids to ride, he was an excellent horseman and ensured that his children shared the same skill. He would insist that all mustering was done on horseback with the whole family riding and Julie following along in a sulky to pick up strays and provide ‘smoko’. He taught his children the love of the land and imparted all his skills to them. He was often heard to tell the boys ‘Take my advice and do it my way’.
Bruce was a proud and sometimes stubborn man. He was known to say, “I’ll do a Frankie and I’ll do it my way” or “if you want something done, do it yourself”.
He was a great worker for the Pony Club and the Show Society, whatever needed doing, he was there with a joke and a smile.
Bruce was a great family man and encouraged our children to excel in whatever they chose to do whether it was playing football, horse riding or whatever they did. If they made mistakes that was OK. He was always there to pick up the pieces and often heard to say, “It’s OK, we’ll fix it”.
If anyone ever needed something done, he would down tools, didn’t matter what he was doing, he would stop and go and lend a hand. He could turn his hand at anything from rebuilding a broken axle on a tractor to fixing a washing machine.
A loving husband and father, a gentleman’s gentleman. A gentle man. He was loved.
Authored by Julie Strudwick