In memoriam: Thomas Ralph Erskine CB (1933 – 2021)

Abstract

Ralph passed away in his sleep on Friday 9 April 2021 at the age of 87. Only days before he was in contact with his friends, busy writing up some of his research for yet another publication and reviewing articles of his colleagues. The news of his untimely death therefore came as a great shock to us all. Ralph was born in Belfast in Northern Ireland on 14 October 1933. His parents were Robert Todd Erskine, a Belfast businessman, and Mary Edith Erskine, n ee Motherwell. He was one of four children: Robert Alan, who died in early childhood, Ann, who passed away in 2020, and Ruth. In 1941, at the age of eight, he started at Portora Royal School, a boarding school in Enniskillen 130 km west of Belfast, which has educated many well-known Irishmen among them Samuel Becket and Oscar Wilde. Boarding school must have been a challenging experience for a boy of that age, especially when being rather shy. In September 1947 he left for Campbell College in Belfast, a grammar school for boys now open to both day and boarding students. In 1947 it was primarily a boarding school and Ralph was lodged in Yate’s house. In his teens he contracted tuberculosis a disease not so uncommon in those days. This resulted in Ralph spending a year and a half in the hospital, something that must have been a harrowing experience at such a young age. He later expressed that he considered himself lucky because many in his hospital ward did not survive. However, the illness had its impact on his life. Many things, such as running to catch the bus, he was not able to do; it was not until his late twenties that such physical exercise again became possible. Ralph had a keen intellect, and he did well in school. In July 1949 he left Campbell College to enter Queen’s University in Belfast to study law. He graduated in 1955 with a very good law degree, LLB. On 1 July 1957 Ralph