Derrick John Image 2 Nottingham Forest 1913

Description

Born in Nottingham, inside right John “Jackie” Derrick began his football career with local side Christ Church before joining First Division club Nottingham Forest in October 1909, making his Football League debut at Everton in early April 1910, scoring twice in a 4-0 victory. He made another four appearances before the end of the season, also scoring twice as Forest suffered a heavy defeat to Liverpool at Anfield later the same month. From December 1910 he became a regular in Forest’s line up, however they were relegated at the end of the 1910-11 season.

Derrick missed only one match in 1911-12. His most productive goalscoring season was 1912-13, when he scored 11 goals in 27 appearances including a hat-trick in a win over Leicester Fosse in December 1912, but his career was seriously interrupted by the onset of the First World War which forced the suspension of peacetime football in May 1915. Derrick served in The Leicestershire Regiment during the First World War and was wounded in Mesopotamia, but recovered to return to The City Ground in 1919, making 8 post war appearances for Forest through to January 1920 before joining Southern League club Aberavon in early 1920 after 37 goals in 147 appearances for Nottingham Forest, and soon thereafter he moved to Aberaman Athletic.

He returned to the East Midlands with Loughborough Corinthians in 1921 and played there for a number of seasons, later playing for Gedling Colliery Welfare in 1928 and Nottingham East End Thursday in 1929 before his eventual retirement.

NB there is a very strong physical resemblance to 1930’s Mansfield Town player A.L. Derrick, also born in Nottingham, suggesting that they are quite likely to be father and son.