Collector’s Corner – Simon Bytheway

If you have a story to tell send it to my gmail, and a photo or two would be nice.

Simon Bytheway worked at Derann for a number of years, mainly in the video rental dept, but he did a stint in almost every area of the business.

Simon Bytheway

I started work with Derann in 1979 straight from school. I’d been to the careers advisors office to see if I could find work and had an interview with the manager there. Explaining that I had an interest in still photography and had done a day release college course, she explained that she had a vacancy with Derann film services she asked if I would be interested in attending an interview. I went right from her office to meet Derek for a chat. When I arrived, Derek and I sat in the kitchen for a brief chat. Much to my surprise and I was pleased to receive an invite to start the following day helping Steve and the 8mm library. Rewinding and checking library prints returned from rental and returning them to library stock.

Moving on a few months I started working in the shop floor helping out in the library and with equipment sales. When the company moved more into AV and hifi sales I moved over to that department and with the interest growing in video when Derek decided to open the video library I was asked to work along side Adrian running this increasingly busy department.

I worked in the video library for around 5 years also working on UK 8mm trade orders and the video packaging departments. When Derek opened the Brierley hill store and then Stourbridge I worked between the two until a few months later Derek asked me to manage the Brierley Hill store. I remained there for most of the remainder of my 9 years until I returned to manage the video department and soundtrack section at the Dudley store in 1987. I have many fond memories of my work life with Derann. The staff Christmas parties where always a wonderful experience the fancy dress as teachers and school kids was a particularly memorable one with John Thompson as a headmaster and Sue, his wife, as a naughty school girl.

During my time at Derann, I worked for several years with Derek, Steve his son, John and Darren running 16mm shows at several clubs across  Dudley and Birmingham in the evenings.

I left Derann in November 1988 to join AMC cinemas as a projectionist and stayed with them for 35 years, being made redundant during the Covid outbreak. I now work for a marketing company for exhibition services.