Thoughts on his passing, by Steve Jordan.
Glyn Thomas, the founder of Avalon Overseas, a specialist military and migrant international shipping company in London, died on Sunday, 14 April 2024. Glyn was just 77 years old.
Now most of you reading this story won’t remember Glyn. That’s because he backed out of the moving industry, in search of a gentler life I suspect, about 20 years ago. That’s a long time and people sometimes have short memories.
But I didn’t want his passing to go unmarked because, in his time, he was a skilled operator, an excellent manager who had the ability to make people want to work for him (a rare skill), and a friend to many in the industry. How do I know? Because he was my hero.
Glyn gave me my first job in the moving industry, with Scotpac (now Crown). It was August 1974. I don’t know why. I had no qualifications and no experience. I didn’t even know what Scotpac did. I was broke, newly married and foundering. For reasons only he could have told, he gave me a chance.
He’d started with Neal & Wilkinson, then moved to Scotpac and, in 1975 started his own company with business partner Jim Hanna. I was so impressed with Glyn in those early days that, despite having a secure job that I really needed, when he asked, I jumped at the chance to join this new venture.
Glyn built that business from nothing. We all worked long hours, turning our hands to everything from dining with ambassadors to packing china barrels. Nobody worked harder than Glyn. The business was successful, and he was immensely proud of it.
In 1982 the business was destroyed by fire ...
Photos:
Top: Glyn with his elder daughter, Alexis.
Bottom: Glyn Thomas (right) with Steve Jordan at Avalon Overseas (around 1990).