It’s not often that we get to share a 70th wedding anniversary so we were delighted to hear from Craig Durham, the son of Stanley and Doris Durham, who told us his parents’ story. Craig writes: ‘My parents have been long time bp society members since they retired from the Kuwait Oil Company in 1983. I always go through the latest issue of bps news with them and they usually recognise a name from the past, although sadly these days more often than not in the obituaries. The photo shows them celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary in Harston, Cambridgeshire on 5 April 2023’.
Craig continues: ‘They were in Kuwait continuously from 1956 to 1983, apart from two secondments to the KOC London office in 1958 and 1963. Dad started as an Electrical Engineer, before becoming Maintenance Superintendent at the Mina Al-Ahmadi refinery. He stayed with KOC after the company was nationalised in 1975, and finished his career there as one of the only non-Kuwaiti managers.
‘Almost half their married life was spent in Kuwait and they remember their days there, and the many friendships made, with incredible fondness. I remember celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary in Kuwait with a party in a large marquee set up in the garden of their house in Ahmadi, a service which the company used to provide for free back in those days!’