He was born 22nd March 1921 in Edmonton, now part of North London to Herbert John Watkinson and his wife Hilda Violet nee Bright who had married at Woodbridge, Suffolk in 1914.
Herbert had joined the Royal Navy in June 1917 but the absent voter electoral roll for Eswin Road, Balham and Tooting Division lists him as 280602 Private RAF. There is a brief service record for F30602 Herbert James Watkinson a commercial traveller who enlisted on 12 June 1917 and transferred to the RAF in December 1917.
At the time of the 1921 Census Hilda was living at 45 Denny Road, Edmonton with daughter Joan aged 5 years 10 months and Derryck aged 2 months but Herbert was absent. The electoral roll for 1928 shows Hilda registered at “Derjo” but again no sign of Herbert but he is registered at that address in 1931 with Hilda.
The 1939 register lists Hilda, Sub Postmistress, with Joan a post office assistant and Derryck air force reserve but not Herbert at the Post Office, Bicknacre.
Derryck joined 101 Squadron, Bomber Command, Royal Air Force which at the time was flying Bristol Blenheim IVs. During the Battle of Britain 101 Squadron Blenheims carried out attacks on invasion barge concentrations in the French Channel ports and attacked enemy bomber airfields. Throughout the winter of 1940/41 101 Squadron carried out anti-shipping strikes and attacked German and French ports, including Brest where the German battle cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were based.
The Bleinheim required a crew of three and Derryck’s plane was crewed by Sergeant Clarence Hubert Deane aged 24, Sergeant John Frances Chell aged 25 and Derryck aged just 20. All listed as 101 Squadron Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve.
At 19.30 on 3rd May 1941 they took off from their base at RAF West Raynham, Norfolk with others from the squadron to attack a convoy off Boulogne. The convoy consisted of a large motor vessel of about 6,000 tons, a smaller one of about 2,000 tons and two FLAK ships. During the attack the planes came under concentrated and accurate fire from the ships, their escorts and the French Coast. Derryk’s plane, whilst attacking the smaller motor vessel, was hit by flak and was seen to ditch about ten miles off Dungeness. Two members of the crew were seen to leave the plane but a search by air sea rescue was unable to find them and neither could a search the next day from RAF West Raynham. They were posted as missing and their bodies were never found.
All three are commemorated on the Runnymead RAF Memorial to the 20,265 air force personnel from Britain, The Commonwealth and countries over run by the Axis powers, killed in World War 2 with no known grave.
Hilda died on 24th February 1982 still living at Derjo., Main Road, Bicknacre and left an estate of £44,470. Derryck’s sister Joan continued to live at that address until her death on 7th August 1971.