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My dear friend and co-author Derek Morris the eminent East London historian sadly passed away last Monday 15th July 2024. I first met Derek over twenty five years ago when I was researching the 18th century merchant group Camden, Calvert & King for my MA Dissertation at the Greenwich Maritime Institute, University of Greenwich. I had reached a critical juncture in my research and had hit a 'brick wall' as regards to primary sources for 18c East London.
A friend (Professor Margit Schulte Beerbuhl) suggested that I should check out the work of Derek who had been researching the Sun Life Insurance records and who has assisted her with her research into German Merchants and Ship-owners operating in 18th century East London.
This is where the revelation came. Derek had been researching little known primary sources by way of Land Tax records and insurance records for some years and had built up a database and formidable knowledge of unusual sources and how they could help build up a picture of obscure individuals. This led to us meeting.
Derek was a charming, unassuming and sociable man with an incredible curiosity on East London and characters such as Captain James Cook who had lived in Mile End in East London.. Derek contributed many articles to the Cook Society newsletter and saw the early potential of the Sun Life Insurance records and was a founder member of the volunteers transcribers who have achieved what is now on an online resource. This task took many years for the dedicated Guildhall Library team to complete.
Derek's approach to his work was affected by his background as a scientist (a Geologist) who had travelled the world as a young man doing land surveys for major oil companies. So his approach was a detailed methodology mostly undertaken in primary sources. At times he ploughed a lonely furrow and little attention was paid to his valuable contribution but over recent years he had published more widely and been introduced into maritime history circles where s work has began to be appreciated. many London historian owe Derek a great debt of gratitude for his long and tenacious struggle to introduce lesser known sources and methods to form a different picture of an important London area at a formative time which was full of diverse characters mostly neglected by mainstream historians. I for one will miss Derek greatly but try to remember and his valuable contribution for future researchers and seekers of knowledge.
He was a fount of knowledge about 18th C history of the parishes in and around Mile End.
The books that he produced with his friend Ken Cozens are examples of how local history books should be written, and he demonstrated the wide range of archival resources available to any researcher.
Despite his advancing years Derek continued to attend the annual meeting of the Captain Cook Society at Marton, Middlesbrough. He will be missed by many attending this years event and glasses will be raised in his memory.
He was a stalwart and very supportive member of the Docklands History Group. As well as attending many of our meetings, he also contributed to our programme of evening talks and walks, as well as giving papers to our annual conferences.
Derek will, of course, be much remembered for the very significant contribution that he made to our understanding of so many aspects of East London history in the eighteenth century. Derek's many publications - including books, articles and reviews - will continue to stand as a fitting testament to his academic prowess, energy and achievement.
On a more personal note, I always loved seeing and speaking to Derek. He was a very gentle and helpful soul - a real 'Gent' in every sense of the word. He will be much missed by everyone who knew him.
We had several meetings, the last at a pleasant country restaurant or pub somewhere south of Cambridge perhaps Harpenden. Our rendezvous were always profitable and beneficial to the interests of history, that of London boroughs in particular.
Ken Cousins was often with us in London. They took me to eating establishments that I could only dreamily imagine.
I reviewed three of the East London histories and have them here in my library. Derek was always pleased that a certain professor at a London university had given great praise for these works. I placed my book reviews in international journals thereby widening the world’s knowledge of these remarkable boroughs. His gathering of information had prodigious proportions and excellent organization.
I will miss him terribly. A creative historian such as he was are rare. I’m going to revisit his books as part of the process about how I can give thankful praise to him.
Derek was good friend,campaigner and historian.
Harpenden UNA has been one of the most active branches over the years, with Derek following the tradition of his predecessors, Harold Beck, Maude Oliver, Rod Winfield, and the Trevor Evans. Over the years we have had regular meetings with many distinguished speakers, campaigns for peace and combatting poverty, interaction with UNA headquarters and government ministers, campaigning for support for UNO and international peace.
We also appreciated his interests in East London, the meat trade for the Navy, the legacy of Captain Cook, and visiting lesser know areas of interest.
As soon as I pressed send on my previous email I realised that I had failed to mention just what a huge contribution Derek made to a “A Place in the Sun”, in setting up the project and his many years work on it, both in working on the registers and publicising the project, which is one of London Metropolitan Archives most heavily used resources.
Suzanne Burge, Place in the Sun fire insurance indexing project
Please accept my condolences on your loss, it might sound silly but I thought he’d be around forever – he seemed to have so much energy and the last time I saw him was earlier in the year, when he was telling me about a talk he was about to give.
His championing of the Sun indexing project in its formative stages and since has undoubtedly been central to its success. It’s our longest running volunteer project and these records, which are almost impossible to use without indexing, are now the third most heavily used collection at London Metropolitan Archives. Derek was most amused to find that we had to move them from a basement store to somewhere closer to the reading room for the sake of the staff that have to fetch them.
You may be interested to know these records are used by family and local historians and by academics, who have made innumerable finds regarding the development of certain industries (brewing and paper making are two that come to mind) and the working lives of women, who appear in these records in far greater number than expected.
As I’m sure you know, his research into the East End has gone a long way to bust myths about 18th century London and his forensic research methods are a model of what can be done by bringing record sets together. He was generous with sharing his methods with us at the archives, offering staff training in the land tax records, for example – and by sharing his research in our newsletter.
Claire Titley, Archivist, London Metropolitan Archives
I started work on the Sun project in 2012 and Derek and I shared the Tuesday morning slot. It was good to have him there to lend a helping hand when needed. We would stop for a coffee break mid-morning and Derek always had an interesting story or two. He was certainly very active with his writing, guided tours, talks, etc.
He will be missed at the regular Sun lunches which he was always keen to organise.
Brenda Dardelin
It was only a few weeks ago that Derek contacted me, as ever asking me to source some images for a piece he was writing. I met your father rather randomly on the first cheapday train into London from Harpenden many years ago, having first got to know Jean Haynes and Hilary Ratcliffe on the station platform and soon there was a little band of us, including Graham Reid and Kevin Featherstone (and on occasion, Albert Moses!) who would travel into town together. It certainly made for an interesting and enjoyable commute! It was always a pleasure to help in any way I could with your father's research and several times over the past few years I was in touch with him when planning a trip to Harpenden so that we could meet up to travel up to London together on the infamous 0925, he to his research at the LMA and me to mine at Islington Archives.
Derek was always very generous to those of us who helped in some aspects of his research, and I can remember enjoying a few very nice lunches at Simpson's in the Strand, and later at the St Pancras hotel restaurant, with some very eminent historians, delighted to be in such company.
My sister Fiona and I were thrilled that he considered our own family history research of sufficient interest to be included in a couple of his books. As very amateur genealogists, we had unexpectedly discovered a rich vein of wealthy 18th century merchants in the City, Wapping and Stratford, quite a surprise since our ancestors were mainly agricultural labourers and brickmakers! Fiona was also able to help with his research into the Blackburn family being well-placed having moved to Scarborough. We both enjoyed Derek's guided walks, my sister often planning a trip south to tie in with one of his walks and I remember on one occasion we were in the Mile End Road at the site of Captain Cook's house when Dan Cruickshank walked by!
Alison Botterill
I always enjoyed meeting him to talk about East London and the East India Company. His research was truly ground-breaking, and I shall never forget the twinkle in his eye at conferences when he was getting one over on respected academics! His books and his work on the Sun registers at LMA are a wonderful lasting legacy, as well as his blog posts for Untold Lives, including his story about meeting Queen Elizabeth in 1961.
Dr Margaret Makepeace, FRHistS, Lead Curator, East India Company Records
In April, when Derek gave a talk to the Society, I had the honour of introducing him to the experience of delivering his first hybrid talk. Despite the absence of our IT guru and the challenges in getting the audio to work, we shared an entertaining evening filled with laughter and jokes—a truly fond memory.
Diane Kendall, Chair of East London History Society
You father was such a generous man. An Australian, I was a stranger to him, asking for his help after I had read his books on Mile End Old Town and the waterfront in the 18th century. He helped me with all sorts of useful information and leads in my research for a book I'm writing on Elizabeth Cook. He came into town to meet up with me and Ian Boreham, then took me on a wonderful tour of Mile End Old Town, described its inhabitants and events in the area.
Carmel Summers
I met Derek in February 2006 (I remember, because it was the day before my 60th birthday) when he invited me to a conference about shipping on the Thames. He had read a book I wrote and we started exchanging research in our own particular areas of the East India Company. I have the utmost respect for his research and his books on Mile End Old Town, Wapping etc are invaluable to historians researching those areas. His dedication, tenacity and attention to detail are obvious in his work.
Georgina Green, FRHistS
He gave two talks to the Science and Tech Group of the Harpenden u3a. His great talent was to entertain while delivering well-researched tales.
Derek was happiest in meeting people who shared his passion for research and action.
David Collins, Harpenden u3a
He was a popular member of both the History Group and the Science Group. Especially in respect of the former, where he gave masterful presentations in respect of East London in the18th and 19th Centuries, and also on Captain Cook, his background and voyages. His presentations were a delight.
Roger Thompson, Chair of the University of the Third Age
I am deeply sorry for your loss. Your father was a remarkable man, and his vast knowledge as a history professor left a lasting impression on many. I had the privilege of meeting him at the library in London in 2018, alongside Ken Cozens, while I was researching the history of marine insurance. Our conversation was enlightening, and I fondly remember the delightful lunch we shared at a restaurant whose name escapes me, but I vividly recall how pleasant it was.
Since that meeting, I have cherished our interactions, sending holiday greetings during Christmas and Easter. Your father’s kindness and wisdom will always be remembered.
Sinem Ogis, Head of Legal Affairs and Maritime Policy, Siglar Carbon, Norway
Derek always brought admiration in me for keeping so active, for his sharp brain and fantastic memory. He was a fascinating conservationist with a variety of interests and in-depth knowledge.
It was always a pleasure to steal a few minutes from the game of bridge and hear one of his stories.
Derek kept us fellow bridge players entertained for a few hours during his 90th birthday's celebration.
Krissi, Harpenden Bridge Club
I am a retired pharmacist and Fellow of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. When the RPS moved to new premises in East Smithfield, they looked for a speaker to talk about this area of London at the Annual Fellow’s Dinner. Derek was recommended and we both travelled to the Dinner from Harpenden, which was a black tie event. Derek gave an excellent speech, and was delighted to have been invited.
Derek took a rather evil delight in finding facts about London history in books and papers by distinguished academic historians that he could prove wrong from his own research on original records and archives, and then publish. The one lesson I will remember from Derek which I have applied in my own research and writing is not to trust received wisdom in other people’s published work, but to go back to the original records and make a judgement for myself.
Tony Cartwright, Global Regulatory Solutions
I got out “Wapping” and read some. I also remember Derek telling me that he was leading a group and was in Mile End Road in front of Captain Cook’s House. There was a Bangladeshi shop there (a green grocer I believe) and the owner and staff came out to see what was going on. They ended up being interested in Derek’s lecture on Captain Cook. We commented that the Bangladeshi community has been here long enough to start lodging documents at the Guildhall Library/LMA relating to their history in UK.
Derek Stimpson
Your Dad was one of the Giants of British Airborne Geophysics.I last saw him at a seminar I arranged at the RAS around 10 years ago. I actually introduced him to the attendees as our most senior and prominent member.
Alan B Reid PhD, Reid Geophysics Ltd
For some 13 years, he was my boss, a man of integrity who led us Huntings guys by example through thick & thin.
The Hunting clan formed a strong bond between us all, not quite a family, but still very resilient over the years so that when we gather in a Hertfordshire pub, our conversations of past times usually silences the rest of the public. Those tales were hard to believe - encroyable would be the best description. We were proud of our achievements, of which Derek was a principal participant.
Nick Gant, HG&G, 1969-1983
I was with Huntings for quite a few years and I was sent to many far flung places, on projects for HGG courtesy of your dad. They were some of the best times of my life, having adventures that we recall at the re-unions.
Nick Evans
Derek, George Sargent and I gave a three week seminar in Buenos Aires to UNESCO invitees from all over South America in 1968 and then carved up the continent for a marketing drive - I got Mexico during the Olympic games. After Hunting, Derek and I had a common interest in Mile End Old Town, which was his research interest . There is a Leatherdale Street there, badly bombed in WWII, named after Henry Leatherdale, a local builder and very distant relative. It's been a long time. I was the mapping director at Hunting Surveys but quite frequently liaised with HGG on common projects.
John Leatherdale
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