Newspaper and Magazine articles

There  are  literally  thousands  of  newspaper  articles  relating  to  Derek’s  literary  work whether  as  an  journalist  or  author.
 
They  start  in  the  early  days  in  his  role  at  the  Daily Express,  before  the  war  years,  when  he  was  a  reporter  covering  stories  from  the  menial to  the  front  page    headlines.  He  eventually  went  on  to  write  a  column  for  the  Daily Mail,  which  turned  into  more  of  an  ‘Agony  Aunt’  for  which  Derek  felt  quite  unsuited but,  as  with  anything  Derek  did,  put  his  whole  heart  into  it.  He  would  feel  both embarassed  yet  elated  when  a  bus  would  pass  him  by  with  his  column  and  face  being advertised  along  the  whole  top  side  of  a  double  decker.  

However,  that  came  to  an abrupt  end  and  Derek  found  himself  without  a  job  and  wondering  what  to  do  next. He had  long  held  the idea that he  should  like  to  travel  the  world  but  how  to  pay  for  this extravagant  desire?  He  decided  that  he  should  write  about  his  travels  and  sell  them  to a  newspaper  that  would  publish  them.  From  this  journey  came  the  book,  his  first,   ‘Time  was  Mine’.  It  was  also  to  be  his  introduction  to  Jeannie  and  assist  with  the  war effort.

He  returned  from  his  travels  as  war  broke  out  and  went  into  the  Army.  It  was  due  to his  experience  that  he  found  himself  employed  in  the  role  of  an  Intelligence  Officer  and began  working  for  MI5.  His  role  necessitated  the  need  to  seek  information  and  where better  at  that  time  than  the  Savoy  Hotel.  As  well  as  many  film  stars  and  celebrities  of day  staying  there  so  too  did  foreign Armed  Forces  Officers,  UK  and  foreign  politicians and  reporters. An  ideal  establishment  to  listen  for  information  that  may  prove  useful  in the war effort.

From the time Derek started writing ‘The Minack Chronicles’ to long after his death the newspapers and magazines continue to write about him. 

Whether it’s to publicise his latest work, an obituary or indeed to mesmerise us with the notion that Derek and Jeannie were spies working for the Russians! There are a great many articles about them both. 

We shall include what we can here. If you find any others that you would like to share please drop us line.