There have been many characters over the years (and there are still a few about), and this page features interviews with a few of them. We were lucky enough to have the chance to speak to Bill Shaw towards the end of 2019, and he provided a great insight into the life of the Club from 1945 onward.

Interviews with the like of Simon Boughton and Andrew Forrest represent the last twenty years or so, and Stevie Sproule has recounted some of his experiences which date from the early 1980’s. There is some reluctance from a few old-timers, but the website administrator will do his best to persuade them…. The general intention of this topic is to include as broad a selection of members as possible, including a few non-members, e.g. former members, members of other clubs, new and young members, and suppliers. Please note that except for the first few, the list is not in any specific order, and that some errors and discrepancies may exist, but these can easily be altered and decanted back into the website. The following gallery includes the eighteen interviewees in the first tranche, with the exception of the last named person for whom the editor awaits a suitable photo…

The following is the current list of interviewees – click on any of the red names to read their story

1. Bill Shaw – one of our great Club players, Interviewed late 2019, sadly died in July 2020. His biography includes an audio recording.
2. Olly Balfour – member of the 1964 Scotland team versus England. Twelve times Men’s champion
3. Ian de Sales la Terriere – member of the 1964 Scotland team versus England
4. David Hollingdale – long standing member, Club Chairman and supporter
5. Colin Robertson – Colin has provided an comprehensive account of the 1955-56 and 2002-03 merger discussions between the Club and Murrayfield Tennis, and this has been accepted in lieu of an interview. Click here for that report, or here to see a photo of Colin in tennis mode at Waverley in the 1970’s
6. Philip Mackenzie Ross – former Chair, member of the Club since 1951, distinguished member of the Geriatrics
7. John Done – 4 time club champion ‘JD’ doesn’t want an interview but is o.k. with a gallery
8. Rosy Fraser – Long term team player, coach, and manager of Scottish teams
9. Jim McLauchlan – The evergreen author of the 1986 history, and originator of the McLauchlan trophy for the Summer Mini-teams
10. Andrew Forrest – Changed the nature of Club Chairmen – now 10 years…
11. Steven Sproule – Mr Karaoke, squash coach, bar manager and friend of the club
12. Brian and Derek Bathgate – The ‘Bathplugs’, about whom no more need be said…
13. Simon Boughton – our hugely popular head coach for the last twenty plus years
14. Jordan Amaral – a representative of the new young (and New World) membership
15. Jacques Laas – our Springbok representative, became a first team fixture
16. Audrey Cumberford – Internationalist and team player in the 1980’s
17. Dave Ferguson – a.k.a. ‘WaverleyDave’ – our only representative of another club. Former top class squash referee, current Tournament referee of our own ESC Open, and current long-term President of Waverley Tennis and Squash Club. You’ll also find a tribute to Dave and to the Club from Ian Allanach, one of the all-time finest Scottish referees.
18. Joyce Waterston – our catering hero for many years
19. Tony Gay (TonySquash) – Our court maintenance and build specialist, and representative player. His interview is only partially complete, and we only have one photograph, but think we should publish anyway and update later. He has agreed to a couple of new photographs, both in June 2021; The first is of his van outside the club. the second of he and his brother-in-law during their lunchbreak in court 3 during a week of court refurbishment. Read his full interview here.
20. Michael Campbell – One of our finest geriatric members; his appearances are now restricted to the dining room. Michael puts his joining date at July 6th, 1954, making him one of our longest-serving members.

We are in course of pursuit of some more candidates, and vouchsafe the editor will keep up the pursuit, and hopefully their club biographies will appear here before too long. We have just completed an entry for Philip Mackenzie Ross which is available in the list above.

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Bill Shaw

Bill Shaw’s involvement with the Club dates back to 1945, when, as he said in his interview, a couple of years after returning to Edinburgh from Canada where he been evacuated, he heard that the club was reopening. A stellar career in amateur squash was followed by a stellar life in theology. Bill sadly died in July 2020, but completed an extensive written interview, along with an audio recording which was made in November 2019.

Click here for a PDF copy of Bill’s interview.

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Olly Balfour

Olly Balfour was one of the finest players of his generation, playing for Scotland on 45 occasions, including the famous triumph over England in March 1964, and winning the ESC Championship on no fewer than 12 occasions.

Olly died on Friday 29th July 2022 aged 86.

His potted biography can be read here….

Click on any of the photographs in the gallery below to enable a full-screen slideshow

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David Hollingdale

David, a member since 1959, and Chairman in 1970-1971 has written an extensive article comprising his experience at the Club, his (heavy) involvement in the 1968 Development, and his ongoing involvement in the development of the tennis courts.

His description of club life (sometimes colourful) includes experiences of managers, coaches, members, member’s cars, socialising and a War Hero (who was also a Chairman). Click here for a PDF. The article includes a piece about table tennis, and a couple of early photographs are shown – the 1955 World Championships in Utrecht, where Eddie Still was also playing.

The slideshow includes a variety of photographs from David’s article and from his life.

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Ian de Sales la Terriere

Ian is famous as a member of the winning 1964 Scottish team against England, but has had a very varied and interesting career as an Army Officer, well-known Edinburgh vintner, and Director and Honorary Member of the Club. He was capped 22 times for Scotland between 1952 and 1965. Ian has polished his biography splendidly, and it is now available as a PDF. We have also assembled a short slideshow.

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Philip Mackenzie Ross

Philip joined the Club in 1951, joined the board of directors in 1969, and was Chair from 1972-1973. He is a long term member of the Geriatrics. Philip sadly died on the 20th October 2023.

His long-awaited biography is now available here.

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John Done

John doesn’t want a formal entry, so we’ll just award him a generous slideshow, featuring some of his triumphs, team management duties and other appearances. John won the Club championship on four occasions between 1973 and 1977, and appeared in other finals. He earned five full Scottish caps, and innumerable appearances in other representative matches. He’s also famous as an ornithologist and conservationist, and Munro-ist, having done them all by his 40th birthday, and many repeats with ESC members in the following years. He was made an Honorary member in 1998.

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Rosy Fraser

Rosy has been a fixture in Club teams since the 1980’s, and amid her World travels teaching, found time to manage Scottish Senior and Junior teams in a number of World Championships. Click here for a PDF version of her interview.

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Jim McLauchlan

Jim, the evergreen author of the 1986 history, and originator of the McLauchlan trophy for the Summer Mini-teams has provided an interview for the website, and a comprehensive slideshow is also available. Jim talks about his working life with radios and televisions, the start of the McLauchlan trophy and the 2003 Cala development. He also talks about his pride at being made an Honorary member. Click here for a PDF version of the interview

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Andrew Forrest

Our redoubtable current Chair has been a member since 1986, and in his club biography notes advise that while his competitive squash was all played at Watsonians, his social sport and many of his great friendships are based at the Club. Andrew has been a board member since late 2007, just in time for the disposal of two major development options, namely the Gregor Shore and Real Tennis initiatives. Stability has pretty much reigned since that time, and much of that influence is due to Andrew. You can read a full version of his club biography here.

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Stevie Sproule

Stevie has been an evergreen at the club since 1969. Player, coach, barman (and bar manager), karaoke king and general good guy around the club. Along with Vicky (his missus) they have graced many of our events. Steve chronicles his life and works in a PDF, and the slideshow below shows many of his connections with the Club.

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Brian and Derek Bathgate

This inseparable pair have graced the Club for many years, great racket performers, volunteers, engineers and loungers. This appreciation was completed by Derek; much of their life has been in parallel, but the history of their time apart also requires to be recorded. In the meantime, if you click here you will enable a PDF of Derek’s contribution thus far. The slideshow below gives a glimpse of the boys sailing experiences, on their puffer ‘Auld Reekie’ and their 40 foot sloop ‘Mercy Jane of Magdalene’. An account of their sailing lives, and more photos will follow in due course.

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Simon Boughton

Simon reckons he first visited the Club for an ESC Open event, or another regional competition around 1997. The earliest photos below show him as Central Regions development officer, a part time post which he fitted around his work at Bridge of Allan squash club. Click here for a PDF of his biography.

STOP PRESS

Squash Mad website, 23^rd November 2020 Simon features in an article – read here

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Jordan Amaral

In line with the Board’s policy of youth involvement, the website sub-committee polled a variety of new young members in an attempt to secure an interview, and Jordan unfortunately drew the short straw. It will become apparent that Jordan has elected to forsake the barren cold wastes of his home country of Bermuda for the temperate climate of Edinburgh, and can’t wait to get back after the COVID lockdown. Jordan was interviewed via Zoom (the editor asked if the club would pay for flight but was turned down), and has completed a template questionnaire which can be read as a PDF here, and his slideshow awaits some entries, particularly of his beloved Dragons (the ESC 7th team) which he has skilfully manhandled and gained back to back promotions from East league five to three. We know most viewers will find the images of Bermuda too much for them, so we advise parental control during viewing.

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Jacques Laas

Jacques arrived in Edinburgh from his native South Africa (Port Elizabeth to be precise) in 2011, and quickly found his feet at the club, thanks initially to JJ then Chris Brock. Jacques had played a lot of squash back home, gaining South African National Schools colours in squash in his matriculation year. He featured in the Riccione, Paderborn and Eindhoven European Club Championship events, and has become very much part of the Club. Click here for a PDF in which Jacques provides us with a brief biography, and enjoy the slide show featuring some of his performances in Europe, and more importantly in the McLauchlan trophy – for Coutsie’s Lucky Nicks

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Audrey Cumberford

Audrey joined the Club in 1983, when she started her University course in Edinburgh. The Club quickly became a major part of her life, and she quickly became a major player, winning the Scottish girls U16 in 1980, the U19 girls in 1982 and 1983, then the U23 Ladies in 1984, becoming a full internationalist and playing 16 times for Scotland between 1983 and 1985. Her career took her to England, and eventually into college management, from where she moved to Glasgow where she now lives, to become principal of West College Scotland, and is now Principal & CEO of Edinburgh College – Scotland’s largest regional college. Audrey is looking forward to visiting the Club again soon – she hasn’t been back since she left in 1987. Read an account of her life, and we have assembled some photos from her time at ESC and more recently.

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Dave Ferguson

The website committee decided that there should be just one representative from another club, and who better than ‘Waverley Dave’? He’s in the club so often that many people believe that he’s a member. Dave has constructed a fine tribute to the club (that was part of the deal), and account of his own experience in squash. You can read that tribute here. There is also a slideshow from our archives – unfortunately we can’t find any of the really embarrassing ones. Just to reinforce the legend that is Dave, his old refereeing mentor, Ian Allanach (not a direct relation of the webmaster) has thrown in his tribute to Dave, and just as importantly, a fine tribute to the club. Part of the deal we offered to Dave was that on no account were any of his jokes to be included.

Dave being Dave, there requires to be four documents describing various aspects of his life and his relationship with the Club. Click on any of the emboldened text to reveal a PDF.

• Dave’s responses to our standard questionnaire
• My Sporting Life – from early days at Meadowbank, through marking Jonah Barrington, playing for a club in Germany, to becoming one of the most respected referees around
• Edinburgh Sports Club – what it means to me: many people think that Dave (and Yvonne) are members.   In fact, he’s the long-term President of Waverley!
• Was he a decent referee? Just to reinforce the view that he indeed was, Ian Allanach, one of the all-time finest Scottish referees has penned his own tribute to Dave, and to the Club

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Joyce Waterston

Joyce started working at the Club in 1986, joining Pat Wilson who had been with us since 1983. They worked continuously until 2013, when they left to go to Stewarts Melville. Joyce has completed one of our standard questionnaires about herself and her experiences at the club which can be viewed here. There is also a slideshow with some memories of her time at the club.

Michael Campbell

One of our finest (and finest geriatric) members; his appearances are now restricted to the dining room, having been a fine squash player, and tennis player until fairly recently..    Michael puts his joining date at July 6th, 1954, making him one of our longest-serving members. Read his potted biography here. Michael has been awarded a slideshow, which follows his progress from his Junior school to Gullane home, and a variety of Sports Club activities including bowls, gardening, and snooker refereeing.

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