Derek was born in 1930, his first brush with driving came in 1943 at an ‘American Day’ for the GIs at Burtonwood. General Patton was on a goodwill tour and asked a 12-year-old Derek if he liked the Jeep accompanying his official car. A smart ‘Yes sir’ resulted in General Patton surprise directive to the driver to let the young Annable have a drive in it. Just able to reach the pedals, a lifetime love of anything vehicular started right there. By his twenties he was racing 500s, initially he drove a Cooper Mk V before switching to one of the first production Kieft's.

He put in some respectable performance including a fourth in his Heat of the Open Challenge Race then second on the Junior Championship Final in early September 1951, followed a few weeks later by a third in the Open Challenge Final, both at Brands Hatch, to give him second overall in the Junior Championship to one B. Ecclestone.

For 1952, now in the Kieft, he took third at Castle Combe in May '52, third in a heat at Goodwood at the Whitsun meeting and third at Brands Hatch later in June. Derek's season was not helped when Stirling Moss borrowed Derek's production car when there was trouble with his own works car.

Later Derek moved into drag racing and eventually published his memories of sixty years of competition. He now lives in Anglesey.