Obituary – Desmond ('Deb') Murphy

Desmond (‘Deb’) Murphy died peacefully on October 25 after a short illness. He was 93.

Mr Murphy will be fondly remembered by many as one of the old school ‘gentlemen of the trade’.

He was born in 1917 in Birkenhead and his first career path was in the carpet industry where he trained as an oriental carpets buyer.

During the second world war he served in the signals and intelligence divisions of the King's Own African Rifles, mainly in East Africa, rising to the rank of Major, second in command of the battalion. It was during the war that he first crossed paths with Arthur Hughes, a relationship that would set the scene for his post-war career.

On leaving the army Arthur Hughes returned to his sales representative’s role at National Plywood in Liverpool and in 1946 he was promoted to area manager. He found the ideal candidate to take over his sales area following a chance meeting with Deb Murphy in the city centre.

Mr Murphy’s career in the timber trade spanned almost 55 years. He saw the transition from National Plywood to Gliksten Plywood, to Bamberger and finally MLM / Meyer International. He specialised in plywood and sheet materials into the furniture and construction industries and developed many large volume ‘house’ accounts for his employers.

Although he was offered various management roles during his career, he preferred to be “at the sharp end”, talking, face to face, with his many contacts.

In 1982 he formally retired from the mainstream trade but was quickly snapped up by a relatively small agency called Brytatt Ltd, based in Ormskirk, Lancashire, as a consultant. This business was subsequently rolled into the long-established agency of Hunt Brothers and Co Ltd, where he stayed until 2000 – when he stopped driving and passed his car onto his granddaughter Nicola.

Throughout his working life Mr Murphy was hugely admired for his sporting prowess. He captained Cheshire at rugby, enjoyed playing club cricket and was an excellent squash and golf player – with five holes in one and much silverware to his name. He also sat as magistrate for many years.

Married to Norah Clark in 1949 but who sadly died in 1987, he is survived by his daughter Deborah, son Christopher and grandchildren Nicola and Matthew.

A funeral service wlil be held on the Wirral on Friday, November 5.