Blackland: St Peter

Derek Charles Frost

Eulogy

Derek Charles Frost was born on the 30th March 1947, in Stanford-in-the-Vale in Oxfordshire. He was the oldest child of Pearl and Charles (Chas) Frost. For those of us old enough to remember it, 1947 was a very harsh winter and Derek – so he was told – entered the world during a snowstorm. His sister Caroline was born some 12 years later.

He attended his local C of E primary school and at this very early age he knew what he wanted to be - when he grew up. Indeed, on the numerous occasions when he wandered off as a very young child his mother would know where to find him. He would be in his local church – St Denys - and if she was missing a tea towel as well she knew he would be wearing that as a sort of cope. He always wanted to be a priest. This was surprising really because at that time neither of his parents were regular church-goers – they became so later – so perhaps we need to ask what drew him at that early age to the church? His determination never faltered and Indeed some years later he bumped into his old secondary school careers teacher at a church convention in Faringdon. The careers teacher took one look at him and said – “you made it then!’ On completion of his primary education he went to Faringdon Secondary School where he met and became very friendly with someone called Pam Ayres. Yes, that one, of – ‘I wish I’d looked after me teeth’ – fame. He and Pam would roam the local fields looking for rabbit food – they both had pet rabbits – and in school they often played opposite one another in school productions. Derek’s mum I’m told used to ’do’ Pam’s mum’s hair. What a claim to fame! Pam later wrote a poem about a rabbit – I wonder was she thinking of Derek…

I am a bunny rabbit

Sitting in me hutch

I like to sit up this end

I don’t care for that end much

I’m glad tomorrow’s Friday

‘Cause with a bit of luck

As far as I remember,

That’s the day they pass the buck

Derek would be laughing at that. He had a quite reserved, but ‘naughty’ sense of humour – rarely seen in public. But I can assure you it was there.

Derek left school at the age of 15 and worked for some time with his cousin in the building trade. That, I must admit, I would like to have seen. For some time he was a petrol pump assistant at the local garage and then he took up employment with a local electrical retailer B.W. Norton. He worked at their television repair shop in Stanford, but I am told with some certainty that he was never allowed to wield a screwdriver near any of the TV sets. It was through this job that Derek met Ann as she worked for the same electrical retailer at their shop in Wantage. They had had occasional telephone conversations but did not meet until December 1967 when Derek was home from college. Ann found herself in charge of the shop in Wantage and needed some help. Derek – reluctantly – agreed. And as Ann said, for a week she was his boss.

Going back a little. In September 1965 Derek went to Greystoke pre-theological College in Cumbria. He would have been sent there by the Oxford Director of Ordinands as the college was set up to enable students to obtain ‘O’ levels necessary to progress further along the ordination path.

In 1966, I joined him at Greystoke, and that was the start of our lifelong friendship.

We nearly got sent down from Greystoke as we were involved in a car accident one winter’s Sunday lunchtime when we were popping to the neighbouring village pub for a swift half. We shouldn’t have been going there and the fact that we missed a rather important service in the evening did not go down well. However, we survived!

On leaving Greystoke Derek moved on to Brasted place College in Kent – another pre – theological college where he worked hard – met Ann at Christmas, at the shop – and successfully made it to start at Lichfield Theological College in September 1968.

During his time there his relationship with Ann blossomed, initiated I should tell you by Ann writing to him, and they were married on 14th August 1971. Derek remained at Lichfield until his Ordination on 21st December 1971 in All Saints Church in Downshire Square Reading.

His first curacy was at St John’s Church in Woodley a parish of some 32,000 souls where his vicar the Revd H.W.H. Wilkinson I’m told ‘taught him everything he knew’.

I find that hard to believe, as Derek had very high church leanings from the time I first met him. Indeed, we went off one day to the Roman Catholic Church in Penrith to attend Mass – but Derek was not impressed, they didn’t do it right or well enough!

He was made a priest in December 1972, at the age of 25, therefore fulfilling his long-held ambition.

He got around the parish on a bicycle and was on one occasion stopped by a policeman for riding on the pavement. Derek was of course contrite and escaped with the policeman telling him he was – and I quote – a naughty, naughty, naughty vicar.

Derek moved from a pushbike to a moped riding around with his white crash helmet and cassock tucked in his belt – no doubt quite a sight. Later Ann also had a moped – of course this was the time of mods and rockers

In 1976 he was appointed vicar of Clanfield in Oxfordshire. This was a newly formed group of five small parishes with just him as the vicar It was here that one of his parishioners penned a song about him I don’t want to keep you too long but I think the verses penned indicate just how hard he had to work – in his first parish……..

This song should be sung to the tune – The Vicar of Bray

There’s Clanfield, Bampton, Shifford and Lew

And Aston makes it five, Sir

There’ll surely be so much to do

To keep them all alive, Sir.

Unto my flock I’ll daily preach

For I have been appointed

And damned are they who dare resist

Or touch the Lord’s anointed.

And this is law, I will maintain

Until my dying day sir

That whatsoever parish I’m in

I’ll be the Vicar today sir.

From Clanfield Parish church at ‘eight’

I’ll dash to Bampton later

Shifford and Lew, I’ll miss today

For Aston’s need is greater

My itin(er)ary so strict I’ll do

From it I will not stray, sir

I must not find myself in Lew,

When in Shifford I should pray sir

In good King Charles’ golden days

When mopeds weren’t invented

Each parish church a vicar had

That’s what the Lord intended

But nowadays the Lord we praise

With only one incumbent

To do five churches every day

No fear of being redundant

I find myself thinking of Marden Vale .

In 1978 Derek passed his driving test and moved from two wheels to four. He was never a very confident driver and had a great dislike of making long unfamiliar journeys. However, with Ann acting as his co-pilot he managed to get to all the places he needed to be.

In 1981 he moved to be vicar of Minster Lovell and Brize Norton and then in 1988 he took up the living of the Upper Kennet churches.

1992 saw him move to Seend , Bulkington and Poulshot, and in 1997 he came to be Vicar here at Derry Hill, Bremhill and Foxham . I became his church warden here at Christ Church and so we were able to rekindle many memories and work together again. During his time at Derry Hill, he and Ann were invited to attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace. The photo on the back of the order of service is Derek trying on a hat - that Ann had been lent for the occasion. He was probably wondering if it could double as a new style of biretta.

Derek retired from active parish ministry in 2001 and moved to live with Ann in Potterne. He found that his services were still much in demand and so began a relationship with St. Peter’s Church in Devizes. Derek had always loved high church ritual and St Peter’s gave him the opportunity to once again immerse himself in that form of worship. I know that Fr Derek, as he was known there, will be sorely missed by all of the congregation in that place.

Among the many things he held as important to him were, his chaplaincy to the Prayer Book Society, - he loved the book of Common Prayer, he loved the liturgy, and if there was an excuse to sing the Litany (in Procession) then he was there. I will so miss his sonorous voice singing the hymns and psalms with great gusto. He said Matins and Evensong every day in his own study at home and loved singing evensong – everything – as he did not so long ago at Foxham

He was Deanery chaplain of the Mother’s Union for many years and for a short time he took up the role of Chaplin to the Guild of Servants of the Sanctuary.

He was one of the most spiritual men I have ever known, and there is no doubt that he touched the lives of people in every parish in which he served and there are people from most of those parishes present here today which is, in itself, a testimony

to his dedication to his role as a parish priest.

As I said at the start Derek’s lifelong ambition was to become a priest

In a fairly recent conversation with his sister-in-law Shirley, whilst out walking the dogs, Shirley happened to say to him, ‘I thought you had retired, how come you're so busy?’ Derek’s response was, ‘I retired as a vicar, I shall be a priest until the day I die’.

Derek Frost; - Reverend Derek, Fr Derek, son, brother, uncle, cousin, husband, friend, but above all – priest.

Derek, your work here is done my friend. May you rest in peace.

Blackland: St Peter

Blackland: St Peter

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The late Rev'd Derek Frost

Blackland: St Peter

Blackland: St Peter

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The late Rev'd Derek Frost