British Widow's Promise to Late Husband Leaves Her Stranded in Abu Dhabi Amid Conflict
For 76-year-old British widow Lynda Leach, a trip to Abu Dhabi last week was meant to fulfill a heartfelt promise to her late husband, Peter Leach. She intended to donate 200 rare photographs he took of the emirate during the 1960s, when Abu Dhabi was still a British Trucial State, to the newly opened Zayed National Museum.
Instead, military escalation in the Middle East and widespread flight disruptions across the Gulf have left her stranded in the emirate. She is now waiting for services to fully resume and for an opportunity to hand over the precious collection.
A Promise Interrupted by Regional Turmoil
"My husband always wanted to come back to Abu Dhabi and donate these pictures he took but somehow did not manage. So, I decided to do it," Mrs Leach told The Independent.
A long-time resident of Cyprus, Mrs Leach traveled to the United Arab Emirates on 19 March with her friend Linda Buckland, also 76 and a British citizen living in Cyprus. Their plan was for a week-long cruise, followed by the photo donation.
"We could have flown out on Friday, but we decided to extend our stay so that I could hand over the slides to the museum on Monday," she explained. "Now we are stranded in Abu Dhabi and our flights have been rescheduled to this weekend."
After completing their cruise on Friday, the two women felt too tired to travel immediately and chose to extend their stay at the Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi on Yas Island, a popular tourist destination.
Flight Chaos and Evacuation Efforts
Air traffic across several Gulf states came to a halt from Saturday, leaving thousands of travelers stuck in the UAE. This disruption occurred as Iran mounted retaliatory attacks across the region, which hosts several US military bases.
The UK government has since launched a major evacuation effort. According to the Foreign Office, around 200,000 British nationals are believed to be in the wider Middle East, many as residents or tourists. Limited flights have resumed in Dubai and Abu Dhabi since Monday, but disruptions continue.
Despite the travel upheaval, Mrs Leach remains determined to complete her mission. "I have handed over the slides to a British citizen living in Abu Dhabi and he has promised to hand them over to the museum on my behalf," she said.
A Glimpse into Abu Dhabi's Past
Peter Leach took the photographs in 1960 while posted as an electronic engineer with the British firm Decca Navigator Ltd, which manufactured radio navigation systems for ships and aircraft.
"Peter was only 21 when he came to Abu Dhabi in the 1960s. It was a different world out here," Mrs Leach recalled. "There were not many people who owned cameras in this part of the world. And he loved taking these pictures." The couple was married for 30 years.
After spending about a year and a half in Abu Dhabi, he returned to the UK, joined the Royal Air Force, and retired in 1995. He died four years ago in Cyprus.
The pictures, preserved as slides along with a few disks of scanned images, offer a black-and-white record of a very different Abu Dhabi, when the emirate was still a small fishing settlement. The collection includes:
- The old Abu Dhabi jetty jutting into the sea with small wooden 'dhows' (boats)
- A traditional ‘bazaar’ where burqa-clad women sold fresh catch
- A basic airstrip etched into the desert with a mud-brick structure
- A Gulf Aviation plane unloading an ice box with meat and other food items
- An old truck bringing gallons of fresh water
Some pictures also show Mr Leach in a modest shed that served as Decca’s operating base and him posing with what appeared to be a first-generation Land Rover on his way to the airport through pristine desert. Many of the small prints carry Peter’s handwritten notes and captions.
Personal Stories and Modern Realities
Mrs Leach shared anecdotes from her husband's time in Abu Dhabi. "I had heard so much about Abu Dhabi from him, about sharing meals with the sheikhs and how he once ate the eye of a lamb," she said.
"The most fascinating story he told me was that the British representative of that time would visit Qasr Al Hosn fort, where the Ruler lived, to spray the stacks of cash the government paid in oil concessions, so they would not grow mould."
Reflecting on the current situation, she added, "If Peter were here, he would have been mesmerised by how Abu Dhabi has transformed. And he would not have definitely expected missiles and drones."
Although the sound of explosions caused by interceptions has been unsettling, Mrs Leach said they feel generally safe. "Peter used to say, 'There is a world out there we don’t know. We can only speculate about this conflict, but there is no need to panic.'"
Mrs Buckland, traveling with Mrs Leach, admitted to anxiety about the missile alerts. "My family is watching this unfold and they are really worried," she said, noting that her brother messages her several times a day to check on her safety.
"Sometimes what we see on television is worse than it is. I tell him not to believe everything he sees on TV."
Despite the challenges, she praised the authorities' handling of the disruption. "We thought this would cost us an extra 1,000 euros. We are very impressed that the government is taking care of everyone and even covering the costs for passengers. If we have to stay a little longer, we don’t mind."
