We are pleased to announce that, following on from the School’s rugby tour to Canada in July and the OB gatherings organised to coincide with the trip, we have expanded our DVP network in Canada! Alongside our existing DVPs in the country, we now have three more DVPS in key areas; Toronto, Calgary and Edmonton, and Victoria and Vancouver Island.

All three new DVPs are looking forward to taking up their new roles and meeting both local and visiting OBs. Find out more about the trio below:

David Cox (60-65) – Toronto

David attended Bedford School as a boarder in Sanderson’s from 1960-1965 and played rugby and tennis whilst at School.

Having obtained a London University external degree in Economics, German and History at the College of Commerce in Birmingham, he then spent two years in the U.S. as an exchange student working at Bloomingdale’s in New York and General Telephone outside Seattle.

David emigrated to Canada in 1971 and joined Imperial Oil – ExxonMobil’s Canadian subsidiary – in Vancouver. He spent three years in various distribution assignments in British Columbia before taking a two-year leave-of-absence to study for an MBA under Peter Drucker at Claremont, California.

Returning to Canada in 1977, David re-joined Imperial Oil’s distribution division in Edmonton, Alberta. He transferred to Toronto in 1978 before joining corporate planning as senior advisor on Continuous Improvement in 1990.

After retiring in 2005, David served as a consultant to ExxonMobil controller’s worldwide organization for three years, which involved frequent visits to Budapest, Buenos Aires, Bangkok, and Curitiba (Brazil). He has also recently retired as the president of Imperial Oil’s retiree club for the Toronto area and is currently a part-time guest lecturer in Lean Six Sigma at Seneca College in Toronto.

David enjoys tennis, hiking, biking, travel, and local politics.

David can be contacted either by phone on 416-231-8430 or via email on dacox@sympatico.ca

Nick Fairhurst (61-66) – Victoria and Vancouver Island

Born at R.A.F. Changi, Singapore, Nick arrived at Bedford School in 1961 and was a boarder in Talbots. Having achieved the vaulted positions of head of Talbots, Deputy Head of School, R.S.M. Head of the Corps, 1st XV colour and Yorkshire Schoolboy Rugby Cap whilst at School, Nick secured a place at Bart’s Hospital Medical School.

He crossed the threshold of Barts Hospital for his medical studies, together with Peter Featherstone (61-66) and they shared flats throughout their student days, before Nick qualified as a doctor at 23. Rugby was Nick’s passion and he also became Captain of the Barts Rugby XV and Captain of United Hospitals during his time at Medical School.

On passing his exams to become a Consultant Physician a few years later, Canada beckoned to Nick. Marrying his bride, Jane, on Saturday (who he had incidentally met at a Sunday Rugby game in Tonbridge, Kent organised by James Lawson (61-66)), the newly-wed couple shipped out to Canada on the Sunday ‘just for two years’ and the rest is history as they say!

Having spent seven years on the prairie in Saskatchewan where all three of their children were born, Nick and his family moved to Victoria on Vancouver Island and its more temperate climate! Here, Nick set up a Practice with a Walk-In Clinic and bought the home, on Bedford Road, where he and Jane have lived for the past twenty-seven years. Outside of medicine, Nick became a referee on the Canadian National Panel after playing Rugby for 34 years, taking on the role of Canadian National Junior Men’s Team Director in the late 1990’s.

Now retired after a very satisfying medical career as a Family Physician, Nick is a member of the Uplands Golf Club in Victoria with his wife and the couple also enjoy travelling together. They have three children two boys and a girl and four young granddaughters, Sienna, Brooklyn, Eleanore and Scarlet.

Nick can be contacted either by phone on 250-744-8581 or via email on npaf@shaw.ca

Derek Coke-Kerr (50-61) – Calgary and Edmonton

Born in Cirencester in 1943, and having spent some of his early childhood in Jamaica, Derek returned to England 1950 at which time he started Bedford School in the Inky. At the School until 1961, Derek joined St Cuthbert’s on starting in the Upper School and was part of the 1st XV, 2nd VIII and was Captain of both Swimming and House Athletics.

After returning to Jamaica in 1962, Derek moved to Canada in 1963 to attend the University of Saskatchewan’s School of Agriculture. He then worked for Chipman Chemicals before going into Advertising and Public Relations in Saskatoon.

Having relocated to Edmonton, Alberta, Derek joined a major advertising agency in 1976, was promoted to the agency’s President in 1985 and left to start his own company in 1990. In 2001, Derek sold his company and joined Travel Alberta acting as Managing Director until his retirement in 2008. He has been awarded the Alberta Centennial Medal and won a silver medal in the over 60’s Rugby event at the 2005 World Masters Games.

Derek is also Chair of the Canadian Friends of Bedford School. Find out more about the group here.

Derek can be contacted either by phone on 780 441 5040 or via email on Rugbyplayer1@mac.com

Not only do our DVPs act as local contacts who can provide advice (and maybe even a guided tour!) to visiting OBs, but many also organise local gatherings. All DVPs and their contact details are listed here so do get in touch with them if you’re going abroad or would like to find out about the next DVP event in your area.

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