He came from a family with a military tradition, being the middle son of a father who had been a fighter pilot with the Royal Air Force during the Second World War,[4] and the paternal grandson of Major Ewen Cameron Bruce.

[3] In late 1984 Bruce was involved with British Army counter-terrorist operations against Provisional Irish Republican Army units in Kesh, County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland, for which he was later awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal for "exemplary acts of bravery"[3][12][13] in maintaining the pursuit of an IRA vehicle in a high speed chase while under almost continual fire.

Describing Bruce's conduct, military history author Harry McCallion comments: "One member of the pursuit team recalls the weight of fire that was poured out at them as being like 'a sheet of lead'.

"[14]One of the operations led to the death in action of his Special Air Service comrade Alistair Slater in a confrontation with several IRA volunteers from the Provisional IRA Derry Brigade, including Antoine Mac Giolla Bhrighde and Kieran Fleming (whose cousin William Fleming was killed in another SAS operation four days later),[15] who were also killed in the incident which became known as the Kesh ambush (Slater being posthumously awarded the Military Medal).

[18] After leaving the British Army in 1988 with the rank of sergeant, Bruce worked in a private security capacity for the comedian Jim Davidson,[19][20] before taking the role of second in command of an undercover operation codenamed Project Lock, a WWF sponsored anti-poaching operation in Southern Africa (1988–1990) led by SAS Founder David Stirling and SAS Lieutenant-Colonel Ian Crooke.

Linked to this was identifying their methods for illegal export, pinning corruption against those in high places who colluded with the dealers, and helping with the training and equipping of anti-poaching teams for endangered species in general and rhino in particular.

[24] Following Operation Lock, for two years Bruce worked in Washington, D.C. as bodyguard for Lebanese billionaire and former Prime Minister of Lebanon Saad Hariri.

[28] In February 1994 Bruce had a nervous breakdown whilst living in Chamonix, France,[3][29] where he without warning attempted to murder his girlfriend with a pair of scissors, stabbing her several times before being dragged off her by another man present.

[3] Bruce came to public prominence in 1998 when his memoir entitled Freefall was published by Little, Brown Book Group,[3][30] under the pseudonym 'Tom Read', ghost written by Michael Robotham.

[6] The book detailed Bruce's military career, the 'Skydive From Space' project, the ascent of Mount Everest, and his subsequent descent into mental illness and psychological recovery.

A report in The Guardian in 2002 discussed "post-career anticlimax" and stated that "the problem of post-discharge mental collapse and suicide among former special soldiers is increasingly being recognised".