Derek Talbot

Derek Talbot MBE (born 23 March 1947) is a former English badminton player. One of Britain's most successful "all-rounders," he won eleven English National Championships four singles, three doubles, and four mixed doubles. He also won four Commonwealth Games gold medals and in partnership with the formidable Gillian Gilks he won three mixed doubles crowns at the prestigious All-England Open (1973, 1976, and 1977).

Derek Talbot
Wolfgang Bochow (left) plays against Derek Talbot from England (right).
Personal information
Country	England
Born	(1947-03-23) 23 March 1947 (age 78)[1] Newcastle, Tyne and Wear county, England
Medal record Men's badminton Representing  England World Championships 1977 Malmö Mixed doubles World Cup 1979 Tokyo Men's doubles Commonwealth Games 1974 Christchurch Men's doubles 1970 Edinburgh Mixed doubles 1974 Christchurch Mixed doubles 1978 Edmonton Mixed team 1978 Edmonton Men's singles 1974 Christchurch Men's singles 1978 Edmonton Mixed doubles European Championships 1972 Karlskrona Mixed doubles 1974 Vienna Mixed doubles 1976 Dublin Mixed doubles 1972 Karlskrona Men's doubles 1976 Dublin Men's doubles 1970 Port Talbot Mixed doubles 1974 Vienna Men's singles 1980 Groningen Mixed doubles European Mixed Team Championships 1972 Karlskrona Mixed team 1974 Vienna Mixed team 1976 Dublin Mixed team 1980 Groningen Mixed team

Early and personal life

Talbot was born and raise in Newcastle, Tyne and Wear county. He married June Kay on 18 July 1975 in Newcastle upon Tyne.^[2]

Career

World Championships

Talbot won a silver medal in the 1977 IBF World Championships in the mixed doubles with Gillian Gilks, losing against Steen Skovgaard and Lene Køppen in the final.

1972 Summer Olympics

Talbot competed in badminton at the 1972 Summer Olympics, where badminton was played as a demonstration sport. In the men's doubles he and Elliot Stuart, his former schoolfellow in Newcastle upon Tyne, were defeated in the semi-finals by Ade Chandra and Christian Hadinata 15–8, 15–12. In the mixed doubles, he paired with Gillian Gilks and they won the gold medal, beating Svend Pri and Ulla Strand of Denmark in the final 15–6, 18–16.

Commonwealth Games

Talbot was also successful at the Commonwealth Games; he won four gold medals, a silver medal and two bronze medals between 1970 and 1978.^[3]

Retirement

Talbot decided to retire from the international badminton in 1981.^[4]

Achievements

Olympic Games (demonstration)

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1972	Volleyballhalle, Munich, West Germany	Gillian Gilks	Svend Pri Ulla Strand	15–6, 18–16	Gold

World Championships

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1977	Malmö Isstadion, Malmö, Sweden	Gillian Gilks	Steen Skovgaard Lene Køppen	12–15, 17–18	Silver

World Cup

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1979	Tokyo, Japan	David Eddy	Ade Chandra Christian Hadinata	5–15, 8–15	Bronze

Commonwealth Games

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1974	Cowles Stadium, Christchurch, New Zealand	Paul Whetnall	Walkover	Bronze
1978	Clare Drake Arena, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	Prakash Padukone	9–15, 8–15	Silver

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1974	Cowles Stadium, Christchurch, New Zealand	Elliot Stuart	Ray Stevens Mike Tredgett	15–6, 6–15, 15–11	Gold

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1970	Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland	Margaret Boxall	Roger Mills Gillian Gilks	8–15, 15–12, 15–12	Gold
1974	Cowles Stadium, Christchurch, New Zealand	Gillian Gilks	Paul Whetnall Nora Gardner	Walkover	Gold
1978	Clare Drake Arena, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada	Barbara Sutton	Richard Purser Alison Branfield	15–9, 15–9	Bronze

European Championships

Men's singles

Year	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result
1974	Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria	Thomas Kihlström	5–15, 16–17	Bronze

Men's doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1972	Karlskrona Idrottshall, Karlskrona, Sweden	Elliot Stuart	Willi Braun Roland Maywald	11–15, 15–18	Silver
1976	Fitzwilliam Club, Dublin, Ireland	Eddy Sutton	Ray Stevens Mike Tredgett	15–13, 12–15, 6–15	Silver

Mixed doubles

Year	Venue	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1970	Afan Lido, Port Talbot, Wales	Gillian Gilks	David Eddy Susan Whetnall	16–17, 16–17	Silver
1972	Karlskrona Idrottshall, Karlskrona, Sweden	Gillian Gilks	Wolfgang Bochow Marieluise Wackerow	15–6, 15–4	Gold
1974	Stadthalle, Vienna, Austria	Gillian Gilks	Elliot Stuart Susan Whetnall	5–15, 15–3, 15–3	Gold
1976	Fitzwilliam Club, Dublin, Ireland	Gillian Gilks	Steen Skovgaard Lene Køppen	6–15, 15–12, 17–15	Gold
1980	Martinihal, Groningen, Netherlands	Karen Chapman	Lars Wengberg Anette Börjesson	15–9, 9–15, 12–15	Bronze

International tournaments (31 titles, 21 runners-up)

Men's singles

Year	Tournament	Opponent	Score	Result
1970	Scottish Open	Paul Whetnall	15–13, 9–15, 10–15	Runner-up
1971	Irish International	Ray Stevens	15–4, 17–16	Winner
1971	Scottish Open	Robert McCoig	15–5, 15–12	Winner
1972	Canadian Open	Sture Johnsson	15–7, 15–6	Winner
1972	Scottish Open	Ray Stevens	1–15, 15–3, 10–15	Runner-up
1973	U.S. Open	Sture Johnsson	4–15, 4–15	Runner-up
1977	German Open	Sture Johnsson	15–12, 15–18, 7–15	Runner-up
1977	Dutch Open	Sture Johnsson	8–15, 15–6, 18–13	Winner
1978	Scottish Open	Rob Ridder	18–14, 12–15, 15–6	Winner
1981	Portugal International	Kevin Jolly	6–15, 4–15	Runner-up

Men's doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1969	South African Championships	Tony Jordan	Kenneth Parsons Rennie du Toit	15–7, 8–15, 10–15	Runner-up
1970	Scottish Open	David Eddy	David Horton Elliot Stuart	18–13, 5–15, 9–15	Runner-up
1971	Irish International	Elliot Stuart	Roger Mills Ray Stevens	15–10, 15–3	Winner
1971	Dutch Open	Elliot Stuart	Erland Kops Svend Pri	11–15, 5–15	Runner-up
1972	U.S. Open	Elliot Stuart	Mike Adams Thomas Carmichael	15–9, 5–15, 15–3	Winner
1972	Canadian Open	Elliot Stuart	Ray Stevens Mike Tredgett	11–15, 13–15	Runner-up
1972	German Open	Elliot Stuart	Ng Boon Bee Punch Gunalan	9–15, 12–15	Runner-up
1972	Dutch Open	Elliot Stuart	Erland Kops Svend Pri	6–15, 15–11, 7–15	Runner-up
1973	India Open	Elliot Stuart	Indra Gunawan Amril Nurman	15–11, 15–8	Winner
1973	U.S. Open	Mike Tredgett	James Richard Poole Donald C. Paup	15–11, 11–15, 12–15	Runner-up
1973	Dutch Open	Elliot Stuart	David Eddy Eddy Sutton	12–15, 15–18	Runner-up
1973	Swedish Open	Elliot Stuart	Poul Petersen Svend Pri	9–15, 15–1, 10–15	Runner-up
1974	German Open	Elliot Stuart	Ray Stevens Mike Tredgett	15–12, 14–15, 15–5	Winner
1974	Dutch Open	Elliot Stuart	Ray Stevens Mike Tredgett	15–8, 12–15, 4–15	Runner-up
1975	Scottish Open	Elliot Stuart	Jim Ansari John Britton	12–15, 15–7, 15–8	Winner
1977	Canadian Open	Eddy Sutton	Bengt Fröman Thomas Kihlström	17–16, 11–15, 10–15	Runner-up
1978	Scottish Open	Mike Tredgett	Billy Gilliland Fraser Gow	15–6, 15–7	Winner
1979	Dutch Open	Elliot Stuart	Morten Frost Steen Fladberg	15–8, 18–17	Winner
1980	Scottish Open	Kevin Jolly	Ray Stevens Mike Tredgett	4–15, 11–15	Runner-up
1981	Portugal International	Ray Stevens	Billy Gilliland Kevin Jolly	18–17, 12–15, 15–12	Winner

Mixed doubles

Year	Tournament	Partner	Opponent	Score	Result
1969	Dutch Open	Gillian Gilks	Wolfgang Bochow Karin Dittberner	15–7, 1–15, 15–5	Winner
1969	South African Championships	Gillian Gilks	Tony Jordan Susan Whetnall	15–10, 15–13	Winner
1970	Dutch Open	Gillian Gilks	David Eddy Margaret Boxall	18–14, 15–8	Winner
1971	Irish International	Gillian Gilks	Roger Mills Julie Rickard	15–4, 15–9	Winner
1971	Swedish Open	Gillian Gilks	Per Walsøe Pernille Kaagaard	5–15, 15–6, 17–14	Winner
1971	All England Open	Gillian Gilks	Svend Pri Ulla Strand	12–15, 15–8, 11–15	Runner-up
1971	German Open	Gillian Gilks	Wolfgang Bochow Kay Nesbit	15–8, 15–10	Winner
1971	Dutch Open	Gillian Gilks	Svend Pri Ulla Strand	15–4, 6–15, 17–16	Winner
1972	Scottish Open	Gillian Gilks	Robert McCoig Margaret Beck	15–9, 15–11	Winner
1972	All England Open	Gillian Gilks	Svend Pri Ulla Strand	15–12, 8–15, 12–15	Runner-up
1973	Denmark Open	Nora Perry	Elo Hansen Ulla Strand	15–4, 14–17, 10–15	Runner-up
1973	Dutch Open	Gillian Gilks	David Eddy Nora Perry	13–15, 15–6, 15–5	Winner
1973	Swedish Open	Gillian Gilks	Elliot Stuart Margaret Beck	15–11, 15–3	Winner
1973	All England Open	Gillian Gilks	Elliot Stuart Nora Perry	9–15, 15–13, 15–8	Winner
1974	All England Open	Gillian Gilks	David Eddy Susan Whetnall	5–15, 15–7, 10–15	Runner-up
1976	All England Open	Gillian Gilks	Mike Tredgett Nora Perry	15–9, 15–12	Winner
1976	Dutch Open	Gillian Gilks	Steen Skovgaard Lene Køppen	15–6, 13–15, 15–3	Winner
1976	Scottish Open	Gillian Gilks	Mike Tredgett Nora Perry	18–17, 15–9	Winner
1977	All England Open	Gillian Gilks	Mike Tredgett Nora Perry	15–9, 15–9	Winner
1977	Dutch Open	Gillian Gilks	Steen Skovgaard Joke van Beusekom	15–7, 15–10	Winner
1977	Swedish Open	Gillian Gilks	Steen Skovgaard Lene Køppen	15–6, 15–9	Winner
1979	Dutch Open	Gillian Gilks	David Eddy Barbara Sutton	15–8, 15–11	Winner

Post-Badminton

Towards the latter stages of his badminton career Derek ran a sports shop, which specialised in racket sports, with ex-South African badminton internationalist Eddie Allen, and local man Neil Woodward, in Newcastle. They sold their own Vicourt badminton rackets. When he retired from serious competition, he set up his own badminton company called Talbot Torro Badminton. In recent years Derek left his more traditional career behind and ultimately set up the Natural Patient homeopathic centre in Ibiza.^[5]

He was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for services to badminton.^[6]