When Derek Causer was born on 24 April 1934 in Middleton St George, Durham, his father, Wilfred, was 26 and his mother, Elizabeth, was 27. He married Vera Mary Brack in March 1958 in Northallerton, Yorkshire. They had three children during their marriage. He died on 19 October 1998 in Darlington, Durham, at the age of 64.