A memorial service has been held for poet and entertainer Derek Meikleham who has died aged 89.
Affectionately known as Dundee’s oldest Teddy Boy, Derek published his first collection of verse, Nostalgia’s No What It Used Tae Be, in 1999.
With titles such as McGill’s Man, Dancin’ at the Palais, the Monkey Parade and The Buster Stall, Derek’s themes struck a chord with locals and emigres alike.
His fanbase continued to grow during Lockdown when, aided by daughters Jackie and Pauline Meikleham, Derek launched his Facebook page, A Poem A Day Keeps The Virus Away, broadcasting daily performances from his living room using his mobile phone and selfie stick.
Derek was a former member of the North End Social Club in Dundee and the club’s social convener in the 1970s.
He had been drummer with the band, The Lemon Drops, in the 1950s, performing regularly at venues such as the Cambustay Hotel.
Derek even compered wrestling competitions at Caird Hall in the 1970s and was famously chased around the ring by Giant Haystacks for forgetting the wrestler’s name.
A member of the Caledonian Golf Club, Carnoustie, for many years, Derek served as social convener in the early 2000s.
Entertainers
In retirement, Derek and his late wife, Moira, brought poetry, dressing-up, disco nights and reminiscing to audiences at sheltered housing complexes and social clubs throughout Dundee and Angus.
After Moira’s death in 2012, Derek continued to entertain audiences, notably at Clarks bar and the Redd Suite in Dundee and at libraries in Dundee and Angus.
In December, 20189, Derek, aged 86, delivered Scots language lessons to first-year pupils at Montrose Academy alongside Dundee writer and Scots enthusiast, Matthew Fitt.
Born in Dundee, Derek attended Stobswell Boys’ School before becoming a message boy at the Sosh, Dundee Co-operative Society, and then manager of the Craigie store.
He met his late wife Moira at Gilfillan Drama Club in 1956 where he wrote some of the early plays and theatrical pieces that sparked a lifelong love of writing and performing.
Derek and family moved to Toronto in 1958 but returned to Dundee in 1969 after the birth of his second daughter, Jacqueline.
Derek then worked as a collector for McGill Brothers in Dundee before taking up sales managers positions with TM Sparks, Office International and David Winter.
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