Derek Lawrence Riches (8 Mar 1929 - 4 Jun 2020)

In loving memory of Derek Lawrence Riches who sadly passed away on 4th June 2020

Those of you who knew Dad well will know he was an incredibly organised man. This extended to leaving full instructions for his funeral and including a biography. It needs to be updated for more recent years but, until then, this is Dad's life in his own words.

I was born on 8th March 1929. I had a happy, carefree childhood with loving parents and two older sisters, Joan and Betty. I was evacuated in 1940 with Chalkwell Junior School to Kilburn In Derbyshire and was billeted with the most kind and gentle Taylor family. I kept in touch with their children, Ivan and Glenis, ever since. On joining Westcliff High School for Boys in September 1940, I had to relocate to Belper, and was billeted with the local secondary school headmaster, Mr Arnold, and his wife. An elderly couple, very caring in their way, but understandably, in view of their age, a trifle distant in their manner. Evacuation ended spring 1942 and school returned to Westcliff.

I was bombed out 16th August 1943 and was the 21st and last casualty attended to at Southend General Hospital. I matriculated in 1944 and achieved my Higher School certificate in 1946. With a year to spare before National Service call up and not wishing to spend a 3rd year in the 6th form I worked for 12 months at the Head Office of the Sun Life Assurance Society. RAF call up in summer of 1947. On demobilisation, proceeded in September 1949 to Culham College to train as a teacher. I represented the college at cross-country running, tennis and table tennis, and, on leaving college in the summer of 1951, I joined Brookside Lawn Tennis Club, a very wise step, since it was there the following year that I met my future wife, Marian. To my great delight, she accepted my invitation to a New Years Eve dance, and, to my even greater delight, she accepted my proposal of marriage only two months later. We became officially engaged on Coronation Day, 2nd June 1953, and married on 7th August 1954.

We shared an interest in The Children’s Society having both attended, before we even knew each other, the inaugural meeting which set up the Southend-on Sea committee. It was through the Children’s Society that we adopted first Julie in 1959 and then Andrew in 1962, both aged just over 7 weeks at the time. Our initial disappointment at being unable to produce children of our own turned to great joy: they have both been wonderful children to us, and we could not imagine life without them, or, indeed, without our grandchildren, Gemma and Daniel, the children of Julie and husband Ron.

A few weeks after Julie’s arrival in 1959, I was invited to join the Southend -on -Sea committee of The Children’s Society and became chairman in 1974, taking on the secretary ship from October 1989. I started up the Smarties appeal scheme in Southend on Sea in 1966, persuading some half dozen parishes to participate and raising just over £100. In recent years 15 parishes and 2 Church of England schools have taken part, the annual net proceeds now regularly exceeding £3500, and it has for many years been the largest Smarties scheme in the country.

My teaching career spanned 35 years from 1951 to 1986 and started in the borough of Southend-on Sea. I then became a departmental head in Upminster before moving on to Senior Master posts with the Inner London Education Authority, first at Kennington and then at Shoreditch. In 1971 I moved to the Fitzwimarc School, Rayleigh, as Deputy Head, becoming Head in 1975. During my period as Head, I had the support of an extremely fine staff of 70 teachers, a very efficient ancillary staff, supportive parents and Governing Body, and - in the main- hard-working pupils, resulting in a very happy friendly school which delivered excellent academic results combined with acclaimed, achievement in sport, drama, dance and music. Professionally, it was the happiest and most fulfilling time of my life.

Since retirement in 1986, I have enjoyed being able to spend more time with my wife, children and grandchildren; increased involvement in the work of the Children’s Society together with Marian, whose efforts in organising garden parties, cake-bakes, and the Southend -on -Sea Committees stall at the Essex Fete has been immense, a number of years sorting the weekly revenue accounts at the Essex Wildlife Trust’s Thorndon Park Centre, bowls with Woodside and Essex County Bowls Club; bridge;, snooker; travel; walking; bird watching and gardening.