An engineer by background, a retired employee of Pratt & Whitney, his technology skills were expressed in his genealogical interest in databases and DNA. His greatest contribution to family history was likely as leader of the SCAN2 syndicate that transcribed a major portion of entries in FreeBMD. Derek was the co-author of a number of indexes to church and cemetery records for Québec, and author of an index to Abney Park Cemetery in Hackney, London, England.
Derek was a board member of the Québec Anglophone Heritage Network, a past Vice-President of the Québec Family History Society (QFHS), a member of the Society of Genealogists (SOG) of London, England, and the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO).
Born in England on 12 November 1934, he was educated at Loughborough College of Technology (University).
Sandra and I extend our sympathy and condolences to Derek's family and close friends. I first met Derek in the early to mid 1990s through genealogy networking on CompuServe, prior to the modern internet as we know it today. As we struggled to figure out how to design and build a useful genealogy information and products 'website' using the limited resources of the day, Derek was among a small group of early adopters who generously offered their ideas, suggestions and predictions of the direction the technology might go as it related to genealogical research. We will miss Derek, and especially our conversations with him at the Quebec Family History Society, and BIFHSGO conferences. Rest in Peace Derek.
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