Former chairman and managing director of OBSERVER Publications, Winston Derrick

St. John’s Antigua- Former chairman and managing director of OBSERVER Publications, Winston Derrick will be laid to rest with an official funeral and thanksgiving service on Tuesday, February 12.

The service is scheduled to take place at Spring Gardens Moravian Church on St John’s Street, starting with tributes at 1:30 pm.

An official funeral is funded by the state and features a parade by police officers who also act as casket bearers, along with a 21-gun salute. The national flag is handed to the deceased’s next of kin.

Derrick, who died suddenly on February 2, was the co-founder of OBSERVER Publications which was registered in the early 1990s.

He was the host of OBSERVER Radio’s Voice of the People – arguably the most popular radio programme in Antigua – for over a decade, up until he died on Saturday.

He and pre-deceased brother Samuel ‘Fergie’ Derrick had fought and won a five-year court battle with government to obtain licences to operate OBSERVER Radio.

The victory at the Privy Council paved the way for the birth of independent broadcast media in Antigua & Barbuda.

Winston Derrick leaves to mourn four children, his wife Kim Derrick, three grandchildren, and many other relatives and friends including staff at OBSERVER Publications.