Further to my message of 5th May 2003, I have now been told of the details of the births of my great-grandfather Cordt Bruns and his brothers. Cordt (written as Cord in the church register) was born in Waffensen, which is now part of Rotenburg(Wumme- with an umlaut over the 'u'), on 23rd July 1839. His brothers Hermann and Claus-Heinrich were also born in Waffensen on 1st November 1829 and 31st January 1834, respectively. Their brother Heinrich was born in Sottrum (just north of Rotenburg) on 14th November 1824. Their parents were Heinrich Bruns and Anna-Maria Bohling - with an umlaut over the 'o'.
There appear to have been a lot of Brunses from that area: I have found a Johann Cord Bruns who arrived in London from Bockel (which is nearby) in 1881.