Tributes to Derrick Lamb - a Stratford stalwart and savvy businessman
DERRICK Carl Lamb will be fondly remembered by many in Stratford as a community stalwart and family man.
Derrick, 87, passed away peacefully on 25th August in Australia, where he had settled for the last decade of his life. But as per his wishes, his funeral service took place at Holy Trinity Church, Stratford, on 27th September.
He came from a family of Stratford shopkeepers, and was born above his grandparents’ shop at 31 Bridge Street on 13th September 1936.
He attended King Edward VI junior school until the age of nine and then went on to King Barton school in Alcester until he passed his 11-plus exams which took him to Alcester Grammar.
Derrick left school early, keen to work and earn an income. During the week he worked at auction market Robert Garrett’s and in his grandparents’ shops at the weekend.
It was whilst working in the fruit shop that he met Pat whom he married in 1958 when they took on Tiddington Bakery, which included the house with it. Their daughter Julia was born the following year.
Business thrived and over the years they bought up many premises in Stratford, converting them into shops. These included fruit shops, a radio/ television shop, sweets, tobacco and gift shop, ice cream, freezer shop and toy shops.
The toy shops were a great success so they expanded into Redditch.
At one time they were looking for a quality supplier of Paddington Bears and approached a woman in London who sent her son along with a sample under his arm – a very young Jeremy Clarkson. This resulted in them being the largest sellers of Paddington Bears after Harrods for some years.
They moved from Tiddington to the High Street, to Maidenhead Road, where younger daughter Nicola was born, and eventually settled on the Tiddington Road where Derrick and Pat were famous for their entertaining.
In 1974, when the miners went on strike and there was no electricity, Derrick bought up all the candles in the country and sold them from his shops (The Candle King). This enabled him to pay all his staff and to continue working. Their last acquisition was an estate agents in the 1980s which they used to gradually sell off all their other shops, and in December 1985 they closed the door on the last shop.
Derrick’s main passion from a young boy was cricket. He played incredibly well and it was thought he could have taken it up as a career, but his business acumen took him in a different direction. However there were many holidays around the world incorporating the test matches.
Derrick arranged lunches at Stratford Golf Cub and dinners at the Moat House to raise money over the years for cricketers’ benefit.
Derrick was a member of many associations and clubs including: Stratford Table Tennis Club (president), Somerset Cricket Club (vice-president), Warwickshire County Cricket Club, Worcestershire County Cricket Club, Stratford Boxing Club, Stratford Snooker League, Stratford Golf Club, Stratford Operatic Society (vice-president), Stratford Poultry Club (vice-president) and the chairman of the Kingfisher Trading Association in Redditch.
Sadly Pat died in 2001, and in 2004 Derrick moved to Wells-next-the-Sea on the Norfolk coast.
It was whilst on holiday in 2007 that he met his partner Trudy, and in 2013 he moved out to Australia to live with her. He has been well loved and cared for until the end of his life by Trudy and her daughters, Joanne and Yvonne.
During the eulogy for Derrick at Holy Trinity last month he was remembered as “mild mannered, with a cheeky sense of humour and a very, very savvy businessman” and “one of life’s gentle gentlemen”.
Derrick is to be buried and reunited with Pat in Stratford Cemetery.