This document has been written by our volunteer Aurora MacDonald, student at Stirling University
Roy Erskine is most well known for being an optician and grandfather of Scottish tennis players Andy and Jamie Murray. A recent donation of Roy’s personal papers to the Archive by the family, however, brings to life his time doing national service just after WW2.
Known as Roy, Robert Roy Erskine was born in Fochabers in September 1931. The Erskine family later moved to Bridge of Allan and then to Dunblane, where his father practised as an optician. After completing his national service, he married his wife, Shirley.
Roy played both tennis and football growing up, competing in the semi-finals of the Scottish Boys’ Tennis Championships before giving up tennis to focus on football. Erskine’s football career saw him play for notable clubs such as Hibernian, Cowdenbeath and Stirling Albion. After retiring from football, Roy opened Erskine Eye Care in 1967 in Auchterarder and Dunblane, which continues to operate today.
Within the Roy Erskine collection, held at the Archives, are items from Erskine’s national service in Japan. During this time, he worked as a surgeon. A diary kept by Roy, along with a photograph album of his activities both on and off duty, provide an amazing insight into his time abroad.
Roy was obviously a keen photographer, and the photograph album of his time in Japan highlights this. Several photographs show his friends on and off duty, exploring their surroundings.
The album highlights the medical work Roy was involved with. Photographs show the surgical teams at work in a busy operating theatre, highlighting the difficulties faced, which are explored in his diary.
When given longer leave from duty, servicemen were able to get away and explore the area. Roy took several images of his time at the Kawana Hotel, near Ito, and his diary discusses his enjoyment of his time there. Highlights included food from the hotel restaurant and activities such as swimming in the pool.
In their free time, the servicemen also played in a football league. Roy kept notes of most of the scores, and there is a team photograph of the medical team with their trophies. From this, it is possible to see how Roy and his companions relaxed between duties during their national service.
