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

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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 of accuracy. The word, a noun, applies to the journ ...

in mid-20th-century England.

Life

Derrick was the son of the cartoonist

Thomas Derrick Thomas Derrick () was an English executioner during the Elizabethan Era.A Classical Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue, Francis Grose Derrick served as a sailor in the Royal Navy during the Anglo-Spanish war and under the command of Robert Devereux ...

, and older brother of the writer Christopher Derrick. John Derrick was raised in rural

Berkshire County Berkshire County (pronounced ) is the westernmost county in 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 17 ...

in England and attended the

Douai School Douai School was a public ( fee-charging boarding) 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 ...

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 o ...

. As a young man, Derrick entered the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, On a school holiday in

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, Derrick became incapacitated by a severe

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

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

Corporatist Corporatism is an ideology and political system of interest representation and policymaking whereby corporate groups, such as agricultural, labour, military, business, scientific, or guild associations, come together and negotiate contracts ...

regime of dictator

António de Oliveira Salazar António de Oliveira Salazar (28 April 1889 – 27 July 1970) was a Portuguese statesman, academic, and economist who served as Portugal's President of the Council of Ministers of Portugal, President of the Council of Ministers from 1932 to 1 ...

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

The Tablet ''The Tablet'' is a Catholic Church, 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 ...

''. 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, United Kingdom. The CTS had been founded in 1868 by Cardi ...

and for

Sword of the Spirit The Sword of the Spirit is an international, ecumenical association of Christian communities within the charismatic movement. As of 2017, the Sword of the Spirit is composed of 82 communities, 45 of which are Catholic. The member communities ar ...

, 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 The Catholic Union of Great Britain is an association of Roman Catholic laypeople in England, Wales, and Scotland. It works with the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales and the Catholic Bishops' Conference of Scotland. The member ...

. He stood as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

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'' is the daily newspaper of Vatican City 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 an official publication, a role ...

''. 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 par ...

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 of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Arab–Byzantine War: Hamdanid forces under Sayf al-Dawla raid into Asia Minor. The Byzantines respond with reprisa ...

*'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 of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * Battle of Marash: Emir Sayf al-Dawla marches north into the Byzantine Empire and ravages the countryside of Malatya ...

*''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 of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * August 10 – Battle of Lechfeld: King Otto I ("the Great") defeats the Hungarians (also known as Magyars) near Augsburg (Germa ...

*''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 of the Julian calendar. Events By place Byzantine Empire * March 6 – Siege of Chandax: Byzantine forces under Nikephoros II Phokas capture and pillage Chandax after an 8 ...

Books edited or translated

Lu Zhengxiang Lu Zhengxiang; he sometimes used the French name René Lou in earlier life, and Lou Tseng-tsiang in later life (later Pierre-Célestin, O.S.B.; 12 June 1871 – 15 January 1949) was a Chinese diplomat and a Roman Catholic priest and monk. He w ...

, ''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 Wladimir is a masculine given name. It is an alternative spelling of the name Vladimir (name), Vladimir. Notable people with the name include: * Wladimir Aïtoff (1879–1963), French rugby player * Wladimir Balentien (born 1984), Dutch outfielder ...

, ''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 1915 births 1961 deaths 20th-century British essayists 20th-century British journalists 20th-century British male writers 20th-century Roman Catholics 20th-century British translators British male essayists British male journalists British male non-fiction writers British Roman Catholic writers Burials at St Peter's, Petersham Converts to Roman Catholicism French–English translators People educated at Douai School