Des was born on August 19th 1929 in Bournemouth and lived first in Salisbury, where he went to the Clive School, then Ringwood, where he went to the National School in Hightown Road. During the Second World War the family relocated to Poole and Des started work at age 14 in Arnold’s market gardens at Upton, before moving on to Maidment’s market gardens in Throop. Moving back to Ringwood in the last 40's, Des worked with his cousin Howard Goulding at Ashley Farm on the Somerley Estate, first as a farm hand and later as a dairyman. The last 16 of his 25 years on the farm were spent as Ashley’s respected head dairyman. For some of his time on the farm Des lived with his parents Albert and Pearl Goulding at 9 Broadshard Lane, Ringwood then in1964 he married his wife Yvonne and moved to a bungalow at 13 Cloughs Road, Ringwood.
In 1974 Des left farming and changed paths, bringing his young family back to Bournemouth and moving into the building industry, firstly with P. D. Allum in Ringwood and then with George & Harding in Bournemouth where he remained until his retirement in 1994.
After retirement, Des remained an active gardener, a doting Grandad, a lover of holidays in Scotland and an avid watcher of motorcycle racing on TV and at Thruxton circuit.