CLARENCE NAPIER BRUCE, 3RD BARON ABERDARE
A year before his death, the British sportsman, military officer and Baron is
"pleased to oblige collectors of signatures" and mentions playing
golf.
ALS: "Aberdare" twice and "C.N. Bruce", 1p, 8x10.
Danescross, Hook Heath, Woking, 1956 October 11. On letterhead of the
British Sportsman's Club in London to "Dear Mr. Booth". In full:
"I am always very pleased to oblige collectors of signatures, where
these are kept and treasured. It is a long time since I played Cricket,
Rackets and Real Tennis but I still play Golf Yrs. Sincerely". Arrow
drawn from "The Lord Aberdare" listing as Chairman of the organization to
embossed address. Written a year before his death on October 4, 1957.
Clarence Napier Bruce (1885-1957), a graduate of Oxford University, entered the
British Army at the start of WWI. When his father, Henry Bruce, 2nd
Baron Aberdare, was killed in action on December 14, 1914, Clarence became
3rd Baron Aberdare. Between the two world wars, Baron Aberdare was a
champion sportsman, winning more than 15 tennis titles in the U.S. and
Canada as well as the British Isles. He would publish two books on the
sport, First Steps to Rackets (1926) and Rackets, Squash Rackets,
Tennis, Fives and Badminton (1933), and Baron Aberdare played an active role
in the organization of the Olympics, serving on the the organizing
committee for the 1948 games held in London. A member of a number of
sportsmen's clubs, Bruce was knighted in 1948, named Commander of
the British Empire in 1949 and created a Knight Grand Cross of the
British Empire in 1954. He was killed in an automobile accident in
Yugoslavia on October 4, 1957, less than a year after writing this letter.
Lightly creased with folds, not at signatures. Nicked at blank left and right
edges, ¼-inch tear at lower left edge. Overall, fine
condition.
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