John Michael Derrick (3 January 1915 – 5 August 1961) was a leading figure in

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the "news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (profes ...

in mid-20th-century England.

Life

Derrick was the son of the cartoonist

Thomas Derrick Thomas Derrick was an English executioner ''c.'' 1608.A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, Francis Grose In English history, executioner was not a commonly chosen career path because of the risk of friends and families of the deceased kno ...

, and older brother of the writer

Christopher Derrick Christopher Hugh Derrick (12 June 1921 – 2 October 2007) was an English author, reviewer, publisher's reader and lecturer. All his works are informed by wide interest in contemporary problems and a lively commitment to Catholic teaching. Li ...

. John Derrick was raised in rural

Berkshire County Berkshire County (pronounced ) is a county on the western edge of the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield. The county was founded in ...

in England and attended the

Douai School Douai School was a public (independent) school run by the Douai Abbey Benedictine community at Woolhampton, England, until it closed in 1999. History 1615–1818 The monastic community was founded in Paris in 1615 and moved to Douai af ...

Woolhampton Woolhampton is a village and civil parish in West Berkshire, England. The village straddles the Bath road between the towns of Reading, to the east, and Newbury, to the west. Geography The village homes are clustered on the northern side of ...

. As a young man, Derrick entered the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, On a school holiday in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, Derrick became incapacitated by a severe

gastroenteritis Gastroenteritis, also known as infectious diarrhea and gastro, is an inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract including the stomach and intestine. Symptoms may include diarrhea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Fever, lack of energy, and dehydra ...

that took several years of recovery. During his convalescence, he wrote ''The Portugal of Salazar'' (1938), a sympathetic study of the

Corporatist Corporatism is a collectivist political ideology which advocates the organization of society by corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, on the basis of their common interests. The ...

regime of dictator

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (, , ; 28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese dictator who served as President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1968. Having come to power under the ("National Dictatorship"), he reframed the re ...

in Portugal. In 1938, Derrick was hired as an assistant editor of ''

The Tablet ''The Tablet'' is a Catholic international weekly review published in London. Brendan Walsh, previously literary editor and then acting editor, was appointed editor in July 2017. History ''The Tablet'' was launched in 1840 by a Quaker convert ...

''. He worked for the magazine until his death, throughout the period of the weekly newspaper's greatest prestige."Woodruff, Douglas"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography''
He frequently wrote the editorial "Notebook" column. In 1956, Derrick also became the editor of the '' Dublin Review'', Derrick also wrote pamphlets for the

Catholic Truth Society Catholic Truth Society (CTS) is a body that prints and publishes Catholic literature, including apologetics, prayerbooks, spiritual reading, and lives of saints. It is based in London, the United Kingdom. The CTS had been founded in 1868 by ...

and for

Sword of the Spirit The Sword of the Spirit is an international, ecumenical association of Christian communities within the charismatic movement. The member communities are composed predominantly of laypersons. It takes its roots from the Shepherding movement. ...

, and translated a number of books on Catholic subjects. Derrick was Chairman of the Challoner Club, and from 1958 Secretary of the Catholic Union of Great Britain. He stood as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

candidate for Reading North in the 1950 election, losing to the Labour candidate. In 1951, Derrick married Anneliese Burkhardt, and the couple moved to Petersham. They had two sons. For a few months before his death, Derrick served as the London correspondent of ''

L'Osservatore Romano ''L'Osservatore Romano'' (, 'The Roman Observer') is the daily newspaper of Vatican City State which reports on the activities of the Holy See and events taking place in the Catholic Church and the world. It is owned by the Holy See but is not a ...

''. On 29 July 1961, Derrick fell seriously ill. He died on 5 August 1961, a few hours after receiving the

viaticum Viaticum is a term used – especially in the Catholic Church – for the Eucharist (also called Holy Communion), administered, with or without Anointing of the Sick (also called Extreme Unction), to a person who is dying; viaticum is thus a part ...

Publications

Books

*''The Portugal of Salazar''. London: Sands; Paladin Press, 1938.

Pamphlets and essays

*''A guerra e a aliança luso-britânica''. Lisboa: Bertrand, 1940. *''Eastern Catholics under Soviet Rule''. London: Sword of the Spirit and The Tablet, 1946. *''Cardinal Mindszenty''. Sword Pamphlet. London: Richard Madley,

948 Year 948 ( CMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Hamdanid forces under Sayf al-Dawla raid into Asia Minor ...

*'The Treasonable Clerks of 1848', '' Dublin Review'' 442 (1948), pp. 49–67. *''Persecution in Poland''. London: Sword of the Spirit,

953 Year 953 ( CMLIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Marash: Emir Sayf al-Dawla marches north into the Byzantine Empire an ...

*''Tito and the Catholic Church''. With a foreword by Cardinal Griffin. London: Sword of the Spirit,

*''Spain and Colombia: the Position of Protestants''. London: Catholic Truth Society,

955 Year 955 ( CMLV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also ...

*''Pope John XXIII''. London: Catholic Truth Society, 1958. *'Epilogue' to Zsolt Aradi, ''John XXIII, Pope of the Council''. London: Burns & Oates,

961 Year 961 ( CMLXI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 6 – Siege of Chandax: Byzantine forces under Nikephoros II Phokas cap ...

Books edited or translated

Lou Tseng-Tsiang Lou Tseng-Tsiang (; 12 June 1871 - 15 January 1949) was a Chinese diplomat and a Roman Catholic priest and monk. He was twice Premier of the Republic of China and led his country's delegation at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919. He sometimes u ...

, ''Ways of Confucius and of Christ'', tr. Michael Derrick. London: Burns & Oates, 1948. *Nazareno Padellaro, ''Portrait of Pius XII'', tr. Michael Derrick etc. London: J. M. Dent & Sons, 1956. * Wladimir d'Ormesson, ''The Papacy'', tr. Michael Derrick. Faith and Fact Books no. 80. London: Burns & Oates, 1959. *René Metz, ''What is Canon Law?'', tr. Michael Derrick. Faith and Fact Books no. 79. London: Burns & Oates, 1960. *William Eric Brown, ''The Catholic Church in South Africa: from its origins to the present day'', ed. Michael Derrick. London: Burns & Oates, 1960.

References

External links

Photograph
on Derrick/Clausen family history blog. {{DEFAULTSORT:Derrick, Michael English male journalists English essayists English Roman Catholics Roman Catholic writers Converts to Roman Catholicism People educated at Douai School 1915 births 1961 deaths British male essayists French–English translators 20th-century translators 20th-century essayists 20th-century English male writers Burials at St Peter's, Petersham