Christopher Hugh Derrick, 1921-2007
(Fall 2007 Newsletter)
In 1977, an Englishman, Christopher Derrick, visited the first
campus of Thomas Aquinas College in Calabasas, California. During
that visit, Mr. Derrick was struck by the unusual happiness of the
students, their hopefulness, and their conviction that they could
come to know the truth about reality. His experience inspired a
book entitled, Escape from Scepticism: Liberal Education as
if Truth Mattered, which was recently republished by Ignatius
Press with a foreword by Rev. George Rutler.
The College was saddened to learn from his sons that Mr. Derrick
recently passed away. Printed below is an excerpt from his obituary.
Please pray for the repose of the soul of this long-time member
of the College's Board of Visitors and for the consolation of his
wife and family.
Christopher Hugh Derrick, who died on October 2nd at the age of 86,
was the third son of Thomas Derrick (1885-1954), a Catholic artist
linked with the Catholic artistic and literary circles of the earlier
decades of the 20th century, and his wife, Margaret. She was a daughter
of the distinguished painter Sir George Clausen, RA (1852-1944).
Christopher was born on June 12, 1921, at Hungerford.
He was educated at Douai Abbey. After briefly going up to Magdalen
College, Oxford, in 1940 he went to serve in the Second World War
as a pilot in the Royal Air Force (Training Command). During his
war service he married Katharine Helen Sharratt on April 10, 1943.
They had nine children, eight sons followed by a daughter; his wife,
six sons, and the daughter survive him.
Christopher returned to Magdalen College in 1945 and later took
a degree in English. There, C.S. Lewis was one of his tutors and
a mentor who greatly influenced him, and a close friend. Always
devoted to literature, Christopher worked for some years in publishing
after graduation. For 12 years he was Printing Officer of the University
of London, but he also worked as a reader for Macmillan and several
publishing firms. At the same time Christopher Derrick, always a
strong Catholic with exceptional knowledge of Christian teaching
and theology, was closely connected with Catholic intellectual circles,
and especially with the Tablet, where his brother, Michael
Derrick (1915-61), was deputy editor for over 20 years.
From 1965 Christopher Derrick worked independently for over 20
years as a writer of books and articles, a lecturer (especially
in the USA), a speaker, and a publisher's reader. The last-named
part of his work inspired one book, Reader's Report. His
other books, and the lecturing which he carried out around the United
States on many visits, were devoted to specifically Catholic subjects,
such as the liturgy, and to contemporary issues as seen from a Catholic
viewpoint. One book, C.S. Lewis and the Church of Rome, examined
his friend and teacher's views which had led him (Lewis) to agree
with much of Catholic teaching without ever joining the Church.
One of his more successful books was Escape from Scepticism:
Liberal Education as if Truth Mattered. While naturally concentrating
mainly on the life of the Christian lay person, he also wrote a
sympathetic study of monastic life in The Rule of Peace.
Christopher Derrick rested from his labours, fortified by the rites
of the Church, on October 2, and was buried at Bandon Hill Cemetery
near his home at Wallington, Surrey (England) on October 12, 2007.
He is sorely missed by his family, who were the most important part
of his life, and many others.
-- Qtrly Newsletter, Fall 2007
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