Education
He was educated at Taunton School, Somerset and served in the British Army during World World War World War II
He was educated at Taunton School, Somerset and served in the British Army during World World War World War II
He worked as a solicitor in England 1947-1951 and emigrated to Cape Town, South Africa in 1951. Robert Dederick published two collections of poems, The Quest and other Poems and He was a regular contributor to The Cape Times, Standpunte, New Coin, Contrast, et cetera His work is represented in a number of anthologies including The Penguin Book of South African Verse, Inscapes, A Century of South African Poetry and Halala Madiba: Nelson Mandela in Poetry.
The phrase "Ah big yaws?" from his poem A Variation on a Theme of Thomas Hardy"s was used as the title of Robin Malan"s book on South African English and his poem A Prayer in the Pentagon provided inspiration for the song Typical Situation by Dave Matthews.
Robert Dederick was also a freelance sports reporter on cricket and field hockey for the Cape Argus and in later years became a regular broadcaster on the English radio station of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC).
He was an active member of the Owl Club, Cape Town.