This morning we learned the sad news of the passing of Derek Horwood, one of the UK industry’s pioneers, aged 92.
The man who put together the United Distributing Company was to create one of the most enduring distribution organisations in the industry. A statement from UDC this morning said that the UDC chairman had suffered "a short illness."
It added: “Derek passed away at home in North London surrounded by his wife Sheila and children Tracy, Mark and Lindsay. Derek devoted his life to our industry, firstly with his father and then with his son Mark at UDC.
“The whole of UDC mourns this loss and will remember Derek as the true gentleman and scholar that he was.”
The funeral is to be held tomorrow at the Bushey New Cemetery, Little Bushey Lane, London WD23 3FF. The precise timing of the funeral was not known as we went to press. If anyone wishes to attend, they should first contact Nicci Rudd on 07376 063123.
InterGame’s David Snook commented: “I have known Derek Horwood for all of the 58 years that I have been in the industry, right back to the early days of the old ATE trade show at Alexandra Palace when Derek had a stand with his brother under the stewardship of his father, who had entered the industry in 1946.
“It was in 1984 that Derek and his son, Mark, formed UDC and set up in headquarters at the now-familiar Park Avenue location in North London.
“Over the next 40 years the duo was to build a business that became a familiar brand not only in the UK, but internationally, handling almost all sectors of the amusement and low-stakes gaming equipment.
“Personally, Derek was always firm but fair, very much the gentleman and surprisingly eloquent. He had the benefit, as a youngster, of an excellent education, determined upon by his own parents and it showed in Derek’s ability to converse on equal terms with anyone from the cloth-capped to the aristocratic.
“He was always ready - especially in his less active years - to sit down and yarn with old folk like myself about the old days in the industry and the characters in this most colourful of industries.
"Derek has left a distinct impression on the industry and will always be remembered with considerable respect, particularly by myself.”
The picture shows Derek with his wife, Sheila, taken at an industry event in the 1980s with his brother Melvyn, who died two years ago aged 87, and his wife Pamela.
