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Derek Roe - Obituary Last week saw the passing of a true gentleman - a friend - a mentor - a second father. He served as a young man in the Royal Air Force where he found his passion for the countryside. A man i am so proud to have known Mr Derek Roe 92 years of age - and still with a mischievous twinkle in his eye until the very last A key member of Monk Wood shoot in Barlow for over 35 years - during which time he designed and oversaw the establishment of his lake - Derek's pond - he actually dedicated it to my grandfather - such was the man - so it now displays two plaques. This will now become his resting place for eternity as his ashes are to be scattered into its waters. Until his mid 80's he was a regular at "work parties", planting new hedgerows, filling feeders or bagging wheat. Over the years his generosity provided shooting on his peg to his army of friends - as being a member of Monk Wood - Crich - Carlton in Lindrick - Two Dales - Wheatley Grange and Ockbrook shoots opportunities arose , and he got so much pleasure from giving others access to our sport. Being a member and indeed on many a shoot the founding member - gamekeeper - shoot captain all rolled into one, his knowledge, skills and indeed passion were always in high demand, sometimes whether asked for or not ! I have sat in many a shoot meeting that has descended into 3 ,4 or more despite the best efforts of the chairman ! He loved his day's sport and he loved then reliving it in the pub afterwards and as a young lad I have fond memories of evenings in establishments such as "The Three Legged Stool" , "The Hare and Hounds" and "The Red Lion". A self proclaimed "dog man" - and so many that have ever shot with him will recall the shouts of SUE SUUUUEEEEEE - well above the other hustle and bustle of shoot day ! My, how we laughed ! Indeed despite owning many dogs, always Labradors, as spaniels were good, but nothing beats a Lab he would say - he only ever chose that one name - Sue. After the tears and the heartbreak - shoot day arrived last week as it undoubtedly would - he would want the show to go on - no doubt - so out from the cabinet came HIS gun - a William Evans SBS that he had saved up for so hard all those years ago, a gun that could tell many a tale. It was now my gun - gifted to me years ago -I was awful with it - missing waves of birds cleanly - but that day it did not matter - this was a day to hold what was his and remember the good times. My first Canada goose with this gentleman or our days walking up wild grey partridges amongst the sugar beet and potato tops. Maybe it's fitting that the last time I saw him the week before his passing I told him of a large covey of greys frequenting one of our wild bird plots - greys that would be left un-saluted as they passed the gun line. But that's how we were, him, me and so many others, decades or even half a century or more apart in age - connected through a love of our sport and a love of the countryside. As well as a countryman - he was a lifelong "motor man" and had many loyal customers who became friends - and this "motor man" mentality was always evident as when you went to see him never forget his "brace" or his "bit of venison" - and in return some home made jars of pickled onions or cauliflower. His last birthday saw him attend the shoot with his daughter and rock - Gill - the smile on his face and the puffing of his chest as he once again stood proud over his happy hunting ground was enough to bring tears to the eyes. As he recounted how he designed and oversaw the construction of the lake .... again .... I laughed inside, and wondered how many more times Gill would hear that , that particular night and that week ........ Derek Roe - a man small in stature but the biggest giant in personality - shoot well and straight old friend - now you can go and have that day rabbiting with our pal Pat