Hugh Bruce got 'black-damp' according to his son William and could not work in the pit so he became a gardener. Hugh Bruce died, aged 44, in Kilmarnock Infirmary of peritonitis after an operation for a perforated gastric ulcer, 19 May 1933. His usual address was 32 Brown St, Newmilns. Annie Houston Bruce died on the 21 Dec 1961 at 14 Macleod St, Newmilns. The informant was Alex Howie, son-in-law and husband of Elizabeth (Bet), who lived at the same address.