UK Aramcons Celebrate Saudi Aramco’s 75th
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Author: Juvie de Koning
Released 19 September 2008
MAIDENHEAD, United Kingdom – Around 100 former Saudi Aramco employees from the United Kingdom congregated at the Holiday Inn on Aug. 21-24 to celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary. Old friends and acquaintances from Dhahran, Abqaiq, Ras Tanura and Udailiyah greeted each other happily with open arms eager to catch up and reminisce about their Aramco past.
UK Aramcons Celebrate Saudi Aramco’s 75thThomas Henderson organized the first ever British Aramcons Reunion in Nottingham last year where he announced this year’s reunion as a commemoration of Saudi Aramco’s 75th anniversary. Since then Henderson, together with his wife Eileen and a couple of friends have worked continuously over the past 12 months to make the reunion a resounding success.
Like last year, Aramco Overseas Company B.V. (AOC) was a proud sponsor of the event and provided on-site support through its public relations team. Martin Wingrove, AOC Oil Spill Response Coordinator, represented AOC on behalf of managing director Ahmed M. Alzayyat. As a former Aramcon himself, Wingrove addressed the audience on a personal note. “I am here not only as a representative of AOC, but also as a genuine, bona fide, UK Aramcon. Someone who, like all of you here, spent many years living and working in Saudi Aramco during what many of us regard fondly as the best years of our lives,”.
Heads nodded, laughter broke out and comments from the audience came freely as Wingrove took the audience on a trip down memory lane. He talked about the challenging times as well as the fun times; how they adapted to life in Saudi Arabia and how they adopted some of its ways into their lives. His words hit home with the audience as they all listen to familiar experiences which bind them together as UK Aramcons.
Wingrove concluded, “We all became Aramcons at different times, in different ways and for different reasons, but my closing thought is this: although we have now left and come home, we became members of the UK Aramco family in our pasts and none of us will be the same again in our futures.”
Administrator of AOC Industrial Relations Division Salah Al-Masoud, who represented AOC last year, sent his message through Wingrove. Al-Masoud thanked the Hendersons for their “tireless efforts in organizing the UK Aramcons reunions and Web site,” and referred to these occasions as “events that represent an invaluable opportunity to get together with people who are our friends and remain an important part of our lives.”
The next UK Aramcon reunion will be held in 2010 in Edinburgh.
See more photos of the 2008 UK Aramcon Reunion in Aramco ExPats Galleries.