'A true gentleman of the press': Former Chronicle & Echo assistant editor Derrick Holden dies aged 91

"He was a gentleman who had time for anybody. He had a happy life and a job he loved that he would have done for free."
Derrick Holden was the assistant editor of the Chronicle & Echo for 13 years as part of a 45-year career with the paper.Derrick Holden was the assistant editor of the Chronicle & Echo for 13 years as part of a 45-year career with the paper.
Derrick Holden was the assistant editor of the Chronicle & Echo for 13 years as part of a 45-year career with the paper.

A former assistant editor of the Chronicle & Echo who dedicated over 45 years to reporting the news in Northampton has died.

Derrick Holden passed away at his home in Kingsley on June 24. He was 91.

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Since his passing, his family says hundreds of tributes have poured in from reporters and journalists who worked and learned under him during his career as one of Northampton's most dedicated newspapermen.

His wife of 55 years Glenys Holden - a former reporter herself who Derrick met on the job in 1953 - said Derrick was "a friend to everyone who lived a happy life".

She told the Chron: "He was a true gentleman of the press.

"He was a workaholic. I used to say that the Chron was his first wife and I was his second.

"Even after he officially retired in 1993, he was back at his desk the following Monday doing the paperwork as a legal correspondent."

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Mr Holden was born in Bedford and got his start in newspapers when the Bedfordshire Times came to his school one day and asked him to start that afternoon.

He served national service during the Second World War by working in the legal department at the War Office in London, before returning to Bedford and starting at the Chron in 1953.

Glenys said: "He was a passionate supporter of the Cobblers. The highlight of his career - maybe even his life - was when the Cobblers went to Wembley in 1988.

"He used to say, 'if the Cobblers win at Wembley then we must have died and gone to heaven!'"

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Northampton Town FC beat Exeter 4-0 in a playoff on Monday this week (June 29), launching them into League One.

Derrick also penned the Tuesday-edition John Grosvenor column for the Chron - which in Glenys' estimation "sold papers" - and helped set up Northampton's still-active 'Sound News' talking-newspaper to help the town's visually-impaired residents get the headlines.In his career at the Chron, Derrick also greatly enjoyed training young journalists, many of which have gone on to become award-winning reporters, such as The Guardian's Matthew Engel.

Glenys said: "So many reporters who knew him have been sending messages.

"He was a friend to everyone, and didn't have a bad word to say to anyone. He was a gentleman who had time for anybody. He had a happy life and a job he loved that he would have done for free."

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Derrick is survived by his wife Glenys, his two sons and his four grandchildren.

Former news editor of the Chron Nick Spoors said: "Derrick Holden was revered at the Chron. He was held in the highest regard by everyone in the newsroom.

"If a piece of copy came through with the Derrick Holden seal of authority you knew it was a good story.

"He retained a huge interest in the Chron and Northampton after he retired. He was always asking about the paper and the welfare of its reporters. He loved the Chron."

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