Derek Wolfe, Marlborough’s new town clerk appointed in January, who was rushed by ambulance to Great Western Hospital, Swindon, at 7 am today (Monday), has died.
He was 58.
Mr Wolfe had felt unwell after awaking at his studio apartment in the town suffering from chest and stomach pains.
Marlborough’s mayor, Councillor Edwina Fogg, will announce his shock death at tonight’s meeting of Marlborough Town Council. Prayers will be said and then the meeting will be abandoned.
Mr Wolfe was called in as acting town clerk last December following the resignation of Liam Costello, who held the post for two years, to take an appointment nearer to his Northamptonshire home.
London born and educated, Mr Wolfe began his local government career with the London borough of Harrow in 1974 and subsequently worked for other London boroughs, notably Brent, Hammersmith & Fulham and the City of London Corporation.
His first appointment as town clerk was in Keynsham, Somerset, in 1994 and since then has served as town clerk for several town councils, ranging from Helston, in Cornwall, to Barry, in South Wales.
“I regard myself as semi-retired now,” Mr Wolfe, whose home is in Axminster, explained at the time. “But I would be very happy to get back into the fray just to stop brain rot setting in, basically, whether that is for the short term or some longer appointment.”
He had heard of Marlborough’s search for a locum town clerk to fill Mr Costello’s shoes initially through his association with the Society of Local Council Clerks and having visited Marlborough in the past decided to apply for the permanent post too.
Twenty other candidates applied, the staff committee, chaired by current Mayor Edwina Fogg, appointed Mr Wolfe to the post.
