Laurie York Erskine (23 June 1894 – 30 November 1976) was a popular boys adventure author, educator, and co-founder of the Solebury School in

New Hope, Pennsylvania New Hope is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. The population was 2,612 at the 2020 census. New Hope is located approximately north of Philadelphia, and lies on the west bank of the Delaware River at its confluence with Aquetong Creek. ...

, United States.Vol 10 ''Who Was Who in America''

Biography

Erskine was born in

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; sco, Kirkcoubrie; gd, Cille Chùithbeirt) is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The town lies southwest of ...

, Scotland to actors Wallace Erskine and Ada Margery Bonney Erskine. The family travelled to the United States in 1901 where both parents appeared in silent films. In 1916 Laurie Erskine was commissioned in the Royal Flying Corps where he served in France. Following his demobilisation, Erskine was an editorial writer with the

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on Februar ...

from 1921–1922, until he began writing stories for boys in 1921. His most famous work was a series of books featuring ''

Renfrew of the Royal Mounted ''Renfrew of the Royal Mounted'' was a popular series of boy's adventure books written by Laurie York Erskine that were later filmed and became a series on both radio and television. Canon 'Inspector Douglas Renfrew' was a former Royal Flying Cor ...

'' that later became a radio, film, and television series with Erskine himself narrating the radio show. Erskine also created and narrated the radio program "Adventure Stories". Erskine was a staff writer with the

Battle Creek Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which en ...

, Michigan Enquirer newspaper. In 1925 he was one of the four organisers of the Solebury School for Boys in New Hope, Pennsylvania. At the start of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, Erskine was commissioned in the

Army of the United States The Army of the United States is one of the four major service components of the United States Army (the others being the Regular Army, the United States Army Reserve and the Army National Guard of the United States), but it has been inactive si ...

Coast Artillery Coastal artillery is the branch of the armed forces concerned with operating anti-ship artillery or fixed gun batteries in coastal fortifications. From the Middle Ages until World War II, coastal artillery and naval artillery in the form of ...

eventually becoming a major in the 38th Anti-Aircraft Brigade from 1944-45. He was awarded the

Bronze Star The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious achievement, or meritorious service in a combat zone. Wh ...

and was discharged in 1946. During his Army service Erskine wrote the texts for the United States Armed Forces Institute course for American citizenship. Erskine's writing subsided as he channeled his energy into developing the Solebury Method for Teaching Composition. His name lives on as a literary prize for students at Solebury School.

Bibliography

Compiled from World Cat :1920 The River trail: Romance of the Royal Mounted. London: Hodder & Stoughton. :1922 Renfrew of the royal mounted. New York: Appleton-Century. :1923 The boy who went. Philadelphia: The Penn Pub. :1924 The laughing rider. New York: D. Appleton and Company. :1925 Valor of the range. New York: D. Appleton and Company. :1925 The confidence man. New York: D. Appleton and Company. :1926 The coming of Cosgrove. New York: D. Appleton and Company. :1927 Renfrew rides again. New York: D. Appleton and Company. :1928 Renfrew rides the sky. New York: D. Appleton and Company. :1928 Power of the hills. New York: D. Appleton and Company. :1929 Fine fellows. New York, London: D. Appleton and Company. :1929 After school: a story of patriotism. New York: D. Appleton and Company. :1930 Comrades of the clouds. D. Appleton and Company. :1931 Renfrew rides North. New York: Grosset. :1933 Renfrew's long trail. New York: Grosset & Dunlap. :1935 Renfrew rides the range. New York: D. Appleton-Century company, incorporated. :1936 Renfrew in the valley of vanished men. New York: D. Appleton-Century Co., Incorporated. :1939 One man came back. New York: D. Appleton-Century. :1940 Valley of wolves. New York: D. Appleton-Century. :1941 Renfrew flies again. New York: D. Appleton-Century.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Erskine, Laurie 20th-century American novelists American children's writers 1894 births 1976 deaths United States Army officers Scottish emigrants to the United States Royal Air Force officers Royal Air Force personnel of World War I People from Kirkcudbright Founders of academic institutions American male novelists American male short story writers 20th-century American short story writers 20th-century American male writers