The last surviving founder of one of Bahrain’s most popular expatriate clubs has died in Australia.
Glyn Ashley was one of the first industrial engineers from the UK to be taken on by Alba, arriving in Bahrain in 1973.
Together with his colleagues Alan Stirling and Adrian Westby he went looking for somewhere to relax after a hard week of smelting.
They struck upon the idea of creating a club that was initially hosted in the front room of Adrian’s house in Budaiya Gardens. The club was called the Bulls Head and meetings were held twice a week.
As the club started to grow in popularity a small villa was rented and the members took it in turns to work behind the service area and light the BBQ.
As the club continued to grow its executive committee took a huge gamble and relocated to where the Country Club is today.
The gamble paid off and the club finally settled into its current premises in Saar in October 1988 with the blessing of the kingdom’s ruler at the time, the late Shaikh Isa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and opened under his patronage.
The Dilly’s general manager Stephen Chartres said: “We were very saddened to hear about the passing of Glyn and, as a club, we will be toasting his memory and marking our respects today.”
Former Alba employee Glyn Ashley
Family, friends and acquaintances in Bahrain have been sharing anecdotes and fond memories of Mr Ashley who died at the age of 81 in Perth, Western Australia. A funeral service to celebrate his life was held on Wednesday.
“Glyn was one of the first industrial engineers from the UK to be taken on by Alba, arriving in Bahrain in 1973,” said his brother-in-law, long-term resident and publisher George Middleton. Mr Middleton’s wife Annie is Mr Ashley’s widow Grace’s sister.
“Glyn had innovative ideas throughout his life and it was his suggestion that set the ball in motion to import ski lift equipment to the desert in order to seamlessly transport Alba’s aluminium ingots from where they were manufactured to convenient transportation points.
Happier days, the late Glyn and his beloved wife, Grace
“He had a great sense of community, was incredibly sociable and his mischievous sense of humour made him popular amongst young and old. After leaving Bahrain, he eventually joined DUBAL, meeting his wife Grace there in the mid-1980s.
“On retirement, he moved to Australia, and went in search of a new challenge. He began fundraising for the ‘Wheelchairs for Kids’ global charity project and helped raise almost A$200,000 from Dubai alone over a five-year period for the manufacturing of wheelchairs for children, many of them destitute in war-ravaged locations throughout the world.”
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