Roy qualified as a zoologist from the University of Pretoria, South Africa in 1977 with a BSc(Hons) degree. This was followed by a Masters degree for his research on the breeding ecology of a bird community in woodland from the Universiy of KwaZulu-Natal and a Doctors' degree from the Rhodes University in 1985 from research of the South African Cliff-swallow. After another five years of research on a variety of birds and bird blood parasites resulting in some 85 scientific papers and more than a 100 popular articles, Roy qualified as a veterinary surgeon in 1995 from the University of Pretoria . For two years he owned the Bird and Exotic Animal Clinic at the Faculty of Veterinary Science at the University of Pretoria before moving to the UK to work in a small animal practice. In December 2001 he opened the Amicus Veterinary Centre.
As of late, Roy has taken a step back into a well earned retirement, and can now be seen tending to the beautiful plants in the garden.