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Derek Simmons was a land surveyor who loved, lived and breathed his profession.   His heroes were such as: David Thompson, Lewis and Clark, Alexander Mackenzie, Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon :  his favourite film was North West Passage and his collection of old maps and survey equipment is unique:  his family, the Isle of Skye and Axbridge on a Friday night – that was Derek Simmons.

After leaving the army in 1955, he worked as a field recorder for SWEB before emigrating to Canada in 1957 where he joined the City of Toronto, Survey Division.    Returning to the UK in 1963 he became a senior surveyor for J A Story & Partners , at their newly opened Bristol office,  before starting his own company, D A Simmons and Partners,  in 1965.  Accuracy was paramount  :  and for 31 years as the owner and Managing Director of Simmons Survey Partnership (subsequently Simmons Aerofilms) he strove to provide a quality service which embraced new ideas and technologies.  The company changed with the market and was amongst the first to introduce GPS, digital photogrammetry and digital cameras.  

 He retired in 2005 but continued to act as an expert witness on boundary disputes right to the end. His home was in Cheddar, Somerset  but his Friday nights, for the last 20 or more years,  were strictly reserved for Axbridge and his poker pals.      All his holidays were spent on the Isle of Skye with the many good friends he had made there over the last 30 years.    Derek passed away on Wednesday, December 2, 2009 leaving his wife of 50 years, three of his four children (his son, Alistair had predeceased him in 2005) and seven grandchildren.    He will be sorely missed by all his family and friends who will always remember  his wicked sense of humour, his generosity and his honesty.