Number 67: Winter 2024-5
Obituary:
Derek Jennings
by Jane Wood, Media Officer, SELRAP, October 2024
Members of the Skipton East Lancashire Rail Action Partnership (SELRAP) are sad to announce the death of Derek Jennings.
Derek was a founding member of the SELRAP campaign group in 2001. He had been a conscientious, passionate, and
highly respected member of the group’s executive committee ever since. As chair for many years, Derek had steered the
executive through many tough challenges, always with a very positive attitude. In his tribute, SELRAP’s founder and first chair
Steve Broadbent described Derek as “a dear friend and the nicest man you could ever meet”.
In the later years of life, Derek was still helping with the important role of membership secretary, building up the
individual membership of the campaign to about 500 members. He had become very well-known over the years to our many
supporters. Over the last few months, he had also been instrumental in arranging some key meetings for the group.
Derek was passionate about campaigning to improve all local railways for the benefit of the local communities; and he
had also belonged to the East Lancashire Line Association (STELLA) and volunteered to look after both Brierfield and Nelson
stations along the East Lancashire Line.
Everyone at SELRAP will miss Derek very much, especially his thoughtful
and wise approach to community campaigning. We remain committed to
completing the Skipton-to-Colne project which he, and others, founded all of
those years ago. Our thoughts are with his family, and many friends, at this sad
time.