ALF GOODEREwas a popular newsagent who ran shops across Derby for more than 35 years.He was the third of four generations of his family to run a newsagent in the city and served customers from his shop in Osmaston from before the Second World War.The father-of-five, who grew up in Osmaston, also served with the 5th Infantry Regiment during the war, but his family said he only spoke about his experiences after he retired.Alf, who was 87 and lived in Alvaston, was surrounded by his family when he died of pneumonia at the Royal Derby Hospital on 20 January 2010.Leading the tributes, his wife Dot said: "He loved his job and loved the customers in the shop. He would start at 6am or before and sometimes was still in the shop until gone 8.30pm. He would not leave until he had served the last customer."I would have to shout him from where we lived behind the shop to tell him his tea was going cold."He always said he would die at the back of the counter but he ended up having a long and full retirement."Alf and Dot had five children: Roger, 66, who became the fourth generation of the family to run the shop when Alf retired at 60, Michael, 62, who works at Rolls-Royce, Stephen, 59, who runs a chauffeur service, Kevin, 51, who works for DHL at East Midlands Airport and Deborah, 45, a foster carer.They also have 11 grandchildren and 11 great-grandchildren. Son Michael said that during his father's Second World War days he saw service in Italy, Germany and Belgium before being de-mobbed while in Palestine.Michael said: "Dad was a driver for a doctor during the war but he only spoke about it after he retired."He said he ended up helping the Jewish prisoners at Belsen concentration camp when it was liberated from the Germans."Son Roger said his father had also opened Derby's first model shop next door to the Nightingale Road newsagent, in 1958: "People would come from miles around to buy the aircraft models."Dad was also President of the East Midlands National Federation of Retail Newsagents, which operated like a union for shop owners like him."Everyone said he was a lovely man who always had time for people. He was just a real character."http://ww w.thisisderbyshire. co.uk/news/Alf-Mr-Po pular/ article-1754990-deta il/ article.html [thisisderbyshire.co .uk]
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