Derek Langham was born in Nottinghamshire where he lived for most of his life, married and raised a family.
Derek became interested in karate in 1965 and was a founder member of the Nottingham Karate Club, which was named ‘The Oddfellows Hall’.
Nottingham SKC was a member of the British Karate Federation which was run by Vernon Bell but joined the KUGB on its formation one year later. Over the following years, Derek recieved instruction from Sensei Enoeda, Kanazawa and Asano, achieving his shodan in 1968. He then became fully involved with the KUGB as a senior instructor, Grading Examiner and International Referee, traveling the world to officiate at many events.
In 1983 Derek became the KUGB’s Administration and Finance Officer, a position he held for almost 20 years until he had to retire due to ill health. Derek passed away on 25th January 2007 after a long illness. He devoted over 40 years of his life to the KUGB and will be sadly missed but very much appreciated by his friends and colleagues in the organization.
