Bruce Stafford’s only concession to the William in his name was to include the initial W for formal occasions. His father was originally a coach builder and later helped to run a family car business in Jeparit. Bruce’s mother, Sophie Lydia (nee Menzel), trained as a bookkeeper before her marriage.

Bruce treasured his early years growing up with his two younger sisters, Ruth and Doreen, playing in the wide open spaces near their home in Jeparit. He was particularly grateful to his primary school teacher for instilling in him a life-long passion for learning. The joys of family life were cut short for Bruce at the age of twelve when scholarships took him first to Maryborough High School, then Wesley College in Melbourne, where he was dux of the school in his final year, and then to Melbourne University.

When working as a Resident Medical Officer at the Royal Melbourne Hospital (RMH) in 1943, Bruce met nursing sister, Mary Smeal. Bruce was well known for his exceptional skill at taking blood and Mary as she strove for excellence herself, she asked him for help. She had obtained a gold medal in nursing at the end of her training, as her mother had before her. Bruce and Mary’s engagement had to be kept secret because of the strict rules of the day in the Hospital. The marriage duly took place on 26th July 1944. It was war time and Bruce was in the RAAF from 1944 to 1946.

While Bruce was away, Mary lived with her parents in Kalorama and gave birth to the couple’s first child, a son named John, whom Bruce did not see until he was several months old.

Bruce worked at Heidelberg and Caulfield Repatriation Hospitals from 1946 to 1952. The family lived in Glen Iris before buying a home in Oakleigh (now Hughesdale). Later two daughters were born, Ann and Merrilyn. The house was built with a surgery and waiting room and Bruce and Mary ran a general practice there from 1953 to 1962. Bruce was much appreciated by his patients for his gentle, caring and thorough approach. When he discontinued his practice he was sorely missed, however he moved on to work as a Clinical Pathologist, Consulting Physician and Cardiologist. Bruce also kept up his association with the RMH until the early 1980s in various roles -as Assistant Physician, Assistant to Cardiologist and in lecturing to students.

Many of Bruce’s patients spoke Greek, so to faciliate communication, Bruce taught himself the language with quite a degree of success. He took great joy in the learning and his patients were amazed and very glad to help him with pronunciation. Evenings were frequently spent keeping up to date with the latest in medical knowledge or, in those days before home computers, cutting and pasting strips of ECG tape on to record cards.

A keen gardener, Bruce planted fruit trees and was well known for his wonderful annual tomato crops. He was very active in his local group of the Society for Growing Australian Plants (now Plants Australia). His contributions to the group’s newsletter explained the origins of the scientific names of plants. His many other interests included increasing his vocabulary and memory skills, photography, piano playing and solving different types of cross-word puzzles. He had a head for mathematics and problem solving. He followed the Geelong Football Club for many years.

While in the Air Force Bruce developed a great love of chess which he played in the evenings with one of the officers. Later in life he was a hard man to beat and games were invariably long as much thought went into every move. When his children and grand children were young, he enjoyed participating in various outdoor games as well as board games and cards. Keenly competitive, though always good-humoured, he would not just let the children win. If one of them beat him in a game, they knew they had done very well.

Bruce was such a diligent worker with a deep interest in medicine that it was hard to imagine he would ever retire, however he gradually reduced his amount of formal work and spent more time at home. Mary became quite ill in the mid 1990s and needed his attention. Bruce’s health was also variable after Mary died in October 1999. He had once hoped to live to be one hundred, but died at the age of eighty. He was tired, but he seemed to be at peace.