My former colleague Derek Cox, who has died aged 87, was a pioneer of community-based youth work in the East End of London, described in a British Bangladeshi newspaper as “one of the quiet architects of modern Brick Lane”.
Derek moved to the East End in 1963 as a newly qualified youth worker, and began to develop his own unique style of working with marginalised groups from many different communities. In 1965, he founded Avenues Unlimited as an independent agency, working from a small office on the corner of Brick Lane and Bethnal Green Road, and in 1970 set out his philosophy in A Community Approach to Youth Work, a book that shaped a whole generation of youth and community workers.
The traumatic birth of Bangladesh in 1971 led to an influx of young families from the Sylhet district, drawn by readily available jobs in the Spitalfields rag trade and by cheap housing, much of it already condemned for demolition and so easily squatted. Close behind came the racist National Front with a wave of assaults, intimidation and fire-bombings.
In this volatile atmosphere Derek continued to believe that the only way forward was to work with the whole community, encouraging young people to create their own autonomous organisations, supporting the community in lobbying for better housing, education, services and security, but also bringing people together through football leagues, outings, social events and sports days. Most of all, it meant camping trips that allowed young people to get out to the countryside and run wild – which they invariably did, often to the consternation of locals and, occasionally, the police.
In 1995 he was appointed OBE and the local newspaper heralded him as the East End’s “Man of the Year”. Avenues Unlimited continued to evolve until its closure in 2009 but Derek carried on playing, talking, connecting, and inspiring, developing what was almost a second career as a foster-carer for infants.
In 2002 he embraced Islam and his funeral at the Brick Lane mosque was an indication of what he had achieved in his life; a crowd of mourners that represented every element of an extraordinarily diverse community, drawn together in recognition of his achievements and his character.
Born and brought up in Guildford, Surrey, Derek was the second of the four children of Bill Cox, a haulage driver, and Marjorie (nee Richardson), a domestic servant. He was educated at Onslow Village secondary school in Guildford, and after national service and a job in a tannery in Guildford went on to earn a diploma in youth work in 1962. He received a diploma in child protection from Portsmouth University in 1993.
He met Lise Hansen in 1963, and they married in Denmark in 1965. She died in 2002. Derek is survived by their son, Andrew, daughter, Karina, and granddaughter, Oriole, and his brother David.
