Sheriff of Norwich 2010 - 2011
Derek James
Derek James is joint Features Editor of the Norwich Evening News and the Eastern Daily Press. For almost 25 years he has written his own page, previously called Whiffler's City, in the Evening News.
Brought up in Diss he was educated at Entry House School, Diss, and then at Earsham Hall, near Bungay, where he was a weekly boarder.
When Derek was 15 he was offered a job during the school holidays as a junior reporter on the Diss Express and never returned to school. He attended day release courses at Norwich City College and residential courses at Harlow where he received his proficiency certificate in journalism, and then left Diss to work on a number of newspapers around the country, before moving to London in the 1960s. From London, he moved to Huddersfield to work on the Daily Examiner where he became court reporter covering magistrates courts, quarter session and assize hearings in West Yorkshire.
In 1970 he married Bridgette and two years later they moved to Cambridge where Derek was employed by the Cambridge Evening News. He left to open a Thetford office of the Bury Free Press in 1980, launching a regional edition of the weekly newspaper.
He and his family moved to Norwich in 1987 when he was offered the job of writing Whiffler's City in the Evening News and the page was later re-named Derek James.
Apart from writing the daily page and a number of columns, he has produced a range of supplements about the history of Norwich, its people and events which have helped to shape the city of the 21st century.
These have included: Norwich in The Blitz: The Fight For Freedom (following the role of the Royal Norfolk Regiment in the second world war), The Railways of Norfolk and Sporting Memories plus a range of others looking at life in the city and county over the centuries.
Derek helped launch The Golden Years rock 'n' roll concerts in 1996 which resulted in many of the pop groups from the 1960s reforming and playing again. These dances have turned into annual events which have raised more than £100,000 for charities and good causes in Norwich and Norfolk.
Through his page he has also invited readers to send in their old picture postcards and as a result more than £14,000 has been collected for the Norfolk Deaf Children's Society.
In 1959 his father first took him to Carrow Road to watch Norwich City beat Manchester United in the famous FA Cup run and he has been a fan ever since, fully expecting them to win every game he watches. He also loves rugby and is a former member of Diss Rugby Club.
Away from the office his passion is travelling, especially to Africa where he has been a regular visitor for three decades.
Derek and Bridgette, a professional artist/illustrator, have been married for 40 years. They live in the city with their dog Doris. Their daughter Verity is a staff nurse at the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital.
