THE brother of a “troubled” man who finally found peace in Oxford, has written an open letter of thanks to the city.

Bruce Falconer, originally from South Africa, lived in Oxford for almost 20 years before he died of a massive heart attack in his care assisted home in Boulter Street, in February last year.

During his time in the city, he was picked up by a number of homeless and mental health charities, and was well known by community workers.

His brother, Fettes Falconer, has written to the Oxford Mail from Australia to thank the people of Oxford for being the only ones to tolerate his brother, a paranoid schizophrenic.

According to Mr Falconer, the 58-year-old had ended up in Oxford after a long and “disturbed” tour of England, during which he stayed at Salvation Army Hostels and slept rough.

He said: “Bruce was difficult to tolerate, but he was my brother.

“I always felt responsible for him.”

Fettes was living in London in 1978 when he persuaded Bruce to leave southern Africa and move to more tolerant England.

When he arrived, Mr Falconer committed his brother for observation in a mental institute. But Bruce checked himself out before a diagnosis could be made.

When Mr Falconer and his family emigrated to Australia in 1983, Bruce returned to Zimbabwe, with disastrous results.

Fettes said: “Neither his extended family in Zimbabwe, nor the police or any government institutions knew what to do with him.

“After a stint in prison he was committed to a mental ward where he would have rotted had not pressure been applied for his release.

“His siblings purchased the one-way ticket to London and we lost contact with Bruce after this.”

Some years later, in 2000, Mr Falconer said he tracked down his brother in Oxford through the Red Cross missing persons bureau.

He said: “That was probably one of the more traumatic events of my life.

“His teeth were rotted to black stumps from too many sweet drinks. He said he averaged 12 cans a day.

“Bruce could not explain how, or why, he ended up in Oxford, but spoke about Manchester and the IRA in Northern Ireland.

“Bruce was a poor lost soul, tormented by a brain full of disturbing schizophrenic and bi-polar chemicals that plagued him to the end.

“I managed to get him better settled in a group home, got his teeth seen to, and ensured he was better connected to welfare organisations.

“It is very apparent that his carers and his colleagues here in Oxford more than tolerated him.”

He added: “To all of you carers and members of Bruce’s community, please accept my heartfelt thanks and appreciation for caring for my brother Bruce.”

Kim Pope, manager of mental health charity Mind, in Cowley Road, said she remembered Bruce.

She added: “He was a real character. We all have very fond memories of Bruce and were extremely sad when he passed away.”

awilliams@oxfordmail.co.uk