Dr Desmond King-Hele

Commendation

Dr Desmond King-Hele was awarded Honorary Doctor of Letters (HonDLitt) in November 2019 at Derby Arena in recognition of his literary work, his poetry and especially his extensive scholarly work on Erasmus Darwin, who set in motion activities and institutions linked to the origins of the University of Derby. Desmond was unable to attend the ceremony in person and his award was accepted on his behalf by his sister, Valerie King-Hele.

You can watch the video of Desmond’s commendation and acceptance, or read the transcript, below.

We were saddened to hear of Desmond's passing in December 2019.