‘My Derek really was a man of the people’ says Jameson’s widow

THE widow of broadcaster and Fleet Street editor Derek Jameson paid tribute to an “incredible character” at his funeral service yesterday.

The final journey for Jameson, 82, who had a heart attack at his home on 12 September, was by Victorian horse-drawn carriage, which took his casket in a procession through his home town of Worthing, West Sussex.

The carriage, adorned with flowers spelling out Derek, travelled to Offington Park Methodist Church, where the funeral service took pace.

His coffin was carried into the church by his children and other family members.

During the simple service,
attended by family and friends, his widow, Ellen, spoke of her happy marriage.

She said: “He was an incredible character. I never forgot Derek was an extraordinary man and a one-off.

“He is the perfect example of a man who lived life to the full.

“The life force was strong in him up to the end. Until a few days before, he was mentally robust, alert, interested, reading his books, watching TV and writing newspaper articles, being interviewed for TV and radio.”

She said he had proudly watched the Olympics, which took place in his birthplace of the east end of London. She said: “Derek really was a man of the people.

“He was looked up to by many, but I never saw him look down on anyone.”

Mr Jameson edited the Daily Express, Daily Star and News of the World. He was also managing editor of the Daily Mirror and a presenter on BBC Radio 2. He had started his career in Fleet Street as a messenger boy at the age of 14.