Artisan’s legacy is set in stone after lifetime of creating artworks

BRUCE Walker’s passing has been mourned but the Angus artisan’s legacy will live on in the vast catalogue of work he created during a lifetime of skilled work.

The Aberdeenshireborn craftsman was approaching his 78th birthday when he died in Kirriemuir.

Across a lifetime of wielding chisel and mallet, or with intricate glassengraving equipment in hand, his output was prolific and eclectic.

Display cabinets throughout Angus and beyond contain the engraved glassware commissioned by customers for special occasions over decades.

And throughout Scotland there are permanent reminders – public and private – of both his talent and significant events.

Those include one of Bruce’s largest works.

It sits at the foot of Glen Prosen, near the cottage where Antarctic explorers Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Dr Edward Wilson planned their South Pole expedition of 1912.

Kirriemuir Landward East Community Council raised £80,000 for the memorial in five weeks. Bruce completed it for the centennial anniversary of the ill-fated trip.

In Fife, there is a stone tribute to five victims of a Second World War mine tragedy.

And his homeland of Aberdeenshire boasts a sculpture of a Clydesdale horse to celebrate Elrick’s agricultural history.

Bruce Alexander Moir Walker was born at Westerton O’braco, Pitcaple on April 13 1946, one of a family of four.

The family moved to Melrose near Banff then a few other places before Bonnyton, then Rhynie.

Even at primary school, he had a talent for art.

Bruce left school aged 15 in 1960 and served a four-year apprenticeship as a monumental mason with William Mckay & Sons in Aberdeen.

He married the late Deirdre and the couple had three daughters, Fiona, Brigid and Rachael. He was a devoted grandad to Robert and Cara.

In the funeral eulogy friend, Forfar’s Bob Kidd described him as a “clever, thoughtful man, well-read and philosophical”.

Bruce Walker concentrates as he chips away.