'Punishment for being left-handed caused my stammer'

Teachers punished Robert Erskine for writing with his left hand

A man who was punished for writing left-handed in school developed a stammer as a result.

Robert Erskine, 70, is a sculptor and automotive broadcaster based in Suffolk.

During primary school, teachers punished him by hitting him with a ruler when he attempted to use his left hand to write.

He told BBC Radio Suffolk he then developed a stammer which worsened in secondary school when he had to read aloud in class.

"I was left-handed at that time so I picked up the pen, started writing and no sooner than I had started to attempt to write, the teacher came up to me with her brown wooden ruler," Mr Erskine said of his first writing lesson.

"She thwacked the back of my left hand and she thrust the pen in my right hand and said, 'That's how you write'. Of course, I couldn't do it."

Mr Erskine, of Wortham, near Diss, said he was left crying and "absolutely terrified".

Once home, he hid his left hand which had been "quite bruised".

'An absolute state'

Shortly afterwards, Mr Erskine developed a stammer which he now understands was a sign of trauma.

Once in secondary school, his English lessons required reading in front of classmates, which was a huge challenge for him.

"I remember I just wanted to run to the bathroom - any excuse to get out of the classroom," he explained.

"But, no, my turn came around. I went up to the front of the class. I was shaking, sweating. I was an absolute state.

"I couldn't read the first word of this book which was The Wind in the Willows.

"It was terrible and, of course, everyone burst out laughing, and that made it even worse."

'Nothing to be ashamed of'

Fortunately, a teacher worked with Mr Erskine on his stammer and he pushed himself to keep reading in front of the class.

"Weirdly, if you put yourself deliberately in these situations and work at it, it really helps," he said.

"It can be sorted out, there is no question."

Mr Erskine was keen to share his advice that people needed to be patient with those who had stammers.

"The more you try to hurry, the more they get flustered," he said.

"The bottom line is that it's nothing to be ashamed of... Luckily today, unlike in my time, there is professional help."