Derrick “Dumpty” Fullick

Derrick “Dumpty” Fullick

Barely a month ago E&MWCC celebrated its 75th Anniversary, with players old and new, on a gorgeous sunny day surrounded by families of all ages.  Our 100 year old President, John Roth, led the celebrations. Sadly, on 1st October we then lost one of our founding members, Derrick Fullick (or Dumpty to many) at the age of 82. He was well known to generations of cricket players and members, having only recently stepped back from an active role in the club due to his ill health.

Derrick’s father was the eldest of eight children who lived at 2 Graces Farm Cottages. One boy was killed during the war; the remaining six boys worked in agriculture in the Itchen Valley and Cheriton for almost their entire working lives. Derrick’s father was the last to actively use the sluice gates to carry out the regulated flooding of the Itchen Valley water meadows at Itchen Stoke. When E&MWCC was formed on ground bought at auction from the Avington Estate in 1946, the young Derrick, along with his childhood friends, sat on the horse-drawn roller being used to create the new cricket pitch to add some additional weight. Health and Safety would have much to say on this activity today! 

Derrick’s family lived in a farm cottage at what is now Lone Farm in Itchen Abbas. It was known as  Rats Castle in those days. He did not enter into agriculture, so was able to pursue his cricketing talents unencumbered by harvesting commitments etc. When he was old enough, Derrick played for E&MWCC alongside his father, Steve and uncle Toby Fullick. As well as cricket, Derrick was a countryman at heart and was a crack shot as many ex-pigeons would testify! His sharp eye helped on the cricket pitch too, where he ultimately scored a career total of over 40,000 runs and took the best part of 2,000 wickets for E&MWCC. This is a club record and one unlikely ever to be broken. 

During the 1970s Derrick was a key part of the all-conquering village cricket team under Dave Purse, which won the Evening League and other short form contests more times than anyone else. One of Dumpty’s favourite stories was about how late he could “cut the ball” and on one occasion he claimed to have actually cut it out of the wicket keeper’s gloves. For many in the Valley he was also the caller at the annual cricket club Bingo evening; and for our younger members he was their scorer on a Saturday afternoon, or that guy mowing the outfield on a Friday. 

Dumpty leaves behind his wife Sheila and an adoring family – and our hearts go out to them all for their loss.  He was a true legend of our cricket club; no one who knew him will ever forget him or his role in our community and the E&MWCC.

We will all miss Dumpty.