The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Tay Road Bridge master John Crerar, 72
John Crerar, the Tay Road Bridge master in post at the time tolls were abolished, has died aged 72 after a battle with cancer.
The youngest of five children, Mr Crerar was born in Bathgate in January 1946 and was educated at Lindsay High School in the town.
In his youth he was a member of the 14th West Lothian Scout Troop where he was Venture Scout leader. The West Lothian Scout Association bought 23 acres of land at The Craigs, Torphichen.
Work was required to make it a viable camping site and he worked weekends moving earth and digging drainage ditches. As a result, the land is still a camping site. He graduated from Strathclyde University in 1967 and went on to spend his early career with Central Region Council, designing and building bridges and motorways. He gained his masters in civil engineering at 25. In 1970, he married May Dryburgh and the couple lived in Blairgowrie for 40 years.
In 1975 he joined Consulting Engineers in Glasgow and was involved with the design of the civil engineering works for Torness Power Station. With his family he had a short spell in Nigeria designing roads, before returning to Scotland and joining Tayside Regional Council in 1978. He was principal engineer responsible for the inspection and maintenance of all bridges in the Tayside area including the Friarton Bridge and Tay Road Bridge.
In 1994 Mr Crerar was appointed bridge master of the Tay Road Bridge where he remained until he retired in 2008 after toll charges were removed.
Throughout his working life and in retirement he was an enthusiastic cyclist, bowler, golfer and hillwalker.
He was secretary of Rattray Bowling Club for eight years, secretary of Glenisla Golf Club for three years and more recently secretary of Blairgowrie Bowling Club.
Mr Crerar is survived by his wife May, children Alastair and Jennifer and grandchildren Andrew, Emilie and Carson.
Mr Crerar’s funeral will take place at Blairgowrie Parish Church today at 11am. This will be followed by an interment in Blairgowrie Cemetery. All friends are respectfully invited. The family ask that any donations to Cornhill Macmillan Centre, Perth, be given to the church.