Monday, July 22, 2024
The first time I saw Roy was at a clay shoot in 1983, he was shooting ahead of me and I could see that he was a great shot. However, although we didn’t speak, I thought he was rather loud and had a lot to say for himself.
A few weeks later, for sale in the local paper, I spotted a cheap flight & accommodation for a FITASC championship shoot in Portugal. I contacted the seller and agreed a price. I was then told that my travelling companions would be Jack and Roy Craske who, to my knowledge, I had never met. I was to meet them at their home in Hindolveston to travel to Manchester airport for the flight. On arrival at their home, I was welcomed by them both with open arms. Yes, Roy was a bit loud but I soon got used to that. I had never shot FITASC before and Roy was amused to see that I’d brought the wrong gun, my 28” skeet gun. Despite the ribbing he gave me about this, he also gave me loads of tips & encouragement on how to achieve a better score. We had a great time and I finished a few clays behind him.
From that point on we were firm friends. If there was a shoot on anywhere that we fancied doing, we’d be there together. Locally, nationally and several times in Europe, we spent the next 15 years as shooting pals most weekends.
We both met our future wives around the same time and they too became good friends and I was honoured to be his best man when he and Denise were married in 1988.
I remember well the day in 1998 when we dropped Roy, Denise and their young family at Heathrow airport to begin their Canadian adventure and thinking how brave they were to take on this challenge. I shouldn’t have worried, his hard work and determination would see them succeed and overcome any difficulties they faced.
Despite moving so far away our friendship never faded and we were lucky enough to visit and stay with them a couple of times and also to see them every time they came back to the UK. Roy and I would always manage to find a shoot somewhere whilst he was here.
He was extremely proud of his family & rightly so, the last pictures he sent me just over a month ago were of Jason’s wedding and his two grandchildren.
After 25 years in Canada there was no sign of a Canadian accent, he wasn’t going to change the way he spoke to suit anyone. Roy earned everyone’s respect in Canada through his hard work and dedication in whatever career path he took.
True friends are hard to find and I wish I could be there to help send you on your last journey.
Rest in peace Craskie my friend, I will miss you forever.
