INTERESTING PEOPLE / LIFE STORIES
By Juliet McNelly
Juliet McNelly
Lifestyle & Editorial Writer
Juliet McNelly is a freelance copywriter specialising in lifestyle, travel and brand-led editorial content, with a focus on engaging storytelling and audience connection.
From a mining village in County Durham to international business, life in Asia and eventually a home in Devon, Davey J Ashfield’s journey has taken a few unexpected turns. Along the way, there have been oil and gas projects, boardrooms, football grounds, several books and more than a few characters who probably wouldn’t make it through a conventional job interview.
Yet for all the distance travelled, much of Davey’s story leads back to the same place: Shiney Row, the values he grew up with and a father who told him, very early on, that he wasn’t going down the pit
8–10 Min Read
Interesting People
Feature Interview
Davey’s story begins in Shiney Row, a mining community in County Durham where he grew up surrounded by people who worked hard, looked after their families and knew exactly where they came from.
His father worked in the pit, as did his uncles and grandfather. His grandfather, Davey remembers, used to tell him that his brothers-in-law and uncles were “not coming down here with us.”
It was never a particularly wealthy upbringing. Davey describes his family as very poor, but with a strong belief in education and a determination to provide him with opportunities they hadn’t had themselves.
His father had left school at 11, and his mother at 12. Yet education was something they were determined he would pursue.
Davey eventually attended Washington Grammar School, where he suddenly found himself among children from very different backgrounds.
“I was meeting people who had cars and houses and could afford things we couldn’t,” he remembers.
He went on to university in Manchester, where he made another discovery: there was a much bigger world beyond Durham, Sunderland and Newcastle.
Davey’s career was anything but carefully mapped out.
He originally wanted to work in medical research and went on to study for a PhD. But that path eventually led into pharmaceuticals, where he discovered that he was good at sales and progressed through increasingly senior management positions.
From there, the opportunities became increasingly international.
He moved into major corporate business, working across marine coatings, oil and gas, and international markets including America, China, Korea and Singapore.
It was a world he enjoyed, particularly the travel and the opportunity to work with people from different cultures.
Eventually, though, he left the corporate environment behind and moved into engineering contracting. The offer was difficult to refuse: twice his salary, a Jaguar and the possibility of becoming a shareholder.
With a young family and a substantial mortgage, he took the opportunity.
“I thought, that’ll do me.”
But the contracting world turned out to be a rather different environment from the corporate boardrooms he had grown accustomed to.
He encountered a cast of extraordinary characters, from people working on huge international projects to colleagues whose approach to everyday business could be somewhat unconventional.
One particular story involved a meeting in Middlesbrough, where a shareholder wanted to be involved in running a major business despite, as Davey recalls, struggling with some of the basic responsibilities.
It was an experience that helped shape his thinking about leadership.
One of the biggest lessons Davey learned was that ability doesn’t always arrive wearing a suit or carrying an impressive qualification.
He discovered that people who might be dismissed because of their background could be exceptionally capable, while those occupying senior positions weren’t necessarily the best people for the job.
He remembers working with local lads who had started out as apprentices or labourers but had developed extraordinary practical knowledge.
In some cases, they understood the work better than the people managing them.
Davey believes that too many people make assumptions about others because of where they come from, how they speak or how they present themselves.
His own background meant he recognised something of himself in those people.
It also reinforced a lesson he had learned growing up: leadership isn’t about status.
“Everybody matters. My dad did. My grandfather digging coal on a two-foot seam did.”
For Davey, the most important thing is whether someone understands the work, respects the people around them and can make a genuine difference.
Singapore occupies a particularly special place in Davey’s memories.
He loved living and working there, not least because of the people he met and the friendships he developed.
One of his most memorable projects involved a major engineering contract that was already seriously behind schedule.
Davey initially began working independently, before being brought in to help get the project moving.
The assignment came with its fair share of complications, including an enormous amount of material needed for Turkey and an unusually important Easter egg.
The project’s title, Davey recalls, came from the name of a Glasgow Rangers supporter who was responsible for helping secure its progress.
There were enormous sums of money involved, very little time to spare and a great deal of pressure to deliver.
When a colleague confidently promised that they would make the Easter deadline, Davey was understandably sceptical.
But the work got done.
It was another reminder that success often depends on people who don’t necessarily fit the traditional image of corporate leadership.
For someone who has spent so much of his life travelling, Davey has some clear views about the value of experiencing different places and cultures.
Before leaving Britain, he admits that he had a fairly narrow view of the world.
Travelling changed that.
Singapore was a particularly important experience, but so were the many other countries and communities he encountered throughout his career.
He came to recognise that people are not always what you initially assume them to be.
Different cultures have different values, different approaches and different ways of doing things. Understanding those differences requires an open mind and a willingness to listen.
“I suppose travelling taught me that. Talk to people. All people. Don’t just decide that somebody is because of where they’ve come from.”
It is a philosophy that extends well beyond business.
Davey remembers meeting an extraordinary range of people, from international executives to those whose lives had been shaped by very different circumstances.
Some of the most interesting were people he might never have encountered had he remained in the community where he grew up.
For Davey, that is one of the greatest rewards of travelling: discovering just how much there is to learn from other people.
Wherever Davey has travelled, one thing has remained constant: his love of Sunderland AFC.
He grew up following Sunderland and Newcastle, but his attachment to Sunderland has stayed with him throughout his life.
Even while living in Asia, football provided a connection to home.
He remembers travelling through immigration in Vietnam, where an official began examining his passport.
After a moment, the official suddenly looked up and shouted, “Wow! Sunderland!”
Davey was initially unsure what was happening.
Then came the recognition.
“Roy Keane!”
The official stamped his passport and waved him through.
It was a small but memorable moment that demonstrated just how far English football had travelled.
Davey believes football creates a shared understanding between people, regardless of where they come from.
“Everybody understands that same hope and misery,” he says.
And despite spending years overseas, that connection to his roots has never disappeared.
After years of international projects and overseas living, Davey eventually found himself back in Britain.
His family played a significant part in the decision.
He had enjoyed life abroad and could easily have imagined remaining overseas, but he also recognised the importance of being close to the people who mattered most.
He returned to Britain and eventually settled in Devon.
At first, he expected to continue working in engineering, but finding the right opportunity proved more difficult than he had anticipated.
He approached a consultancy locally and made it clear that he wanted to work, even if it meant starting with only a few days a week.
But another opportunity was beginning to emerge.
Writing.
Davey had already begun developing stories based on the extraordinary people and situations he had encountered during his career.
Those stories eventually grew into a collection of books, bringing together his experiences of international contracting, colourful characters and the absurdities of working life.
His fictionalised accounts include titles such as Turkey and One More Easter Egg and Contracting with the Devil.
What started as a way of capturing memorable experiences became another unexpected chapter in his life
For all the career achievements, international travel and unusual experiences, Davey’s reflections eventually return to his family.
He remembers visiting the grave of his father, who had died when Davey was still relatively young.
Looking back at everything he had achieved and experienced, he found himself thinking about what his father would have made of it all.
His father’s influence had never really left him.
Davey also reflects on his children and the importance of allowing them to build lives of their own, without feeling pressured to match his achievements or follow the same path.
He is proud of what they have done and grateful for the life he has shared with his wife.
But when asked whether he still considers himself the same person after everything that has happened, Davey’s answer is revealing.
He believes he is.
Not because life hasn’t changed him, but because the values he grew up with have remained.
“I’ve been blessed with a wonderful family and a marvellous wife. Coming from where I came from and seeing the things I’ve seen, anything could have happened.”
He doesn’t measure success simply by the amount of money someone has accumulated, the position they have reached or the places they have visited.
For Davey, the measure is much more personal.
“It’s not all about acquiring wealth or being the best. It’s what you do with it and how you help people along the way.”
And perhaps that is what makes his story so compelling.
A young boy from a mining village travelled the world, built an international career, met extraordinary people and found himself in situations he could never have imagined.
Yet when he looks back, the thing that matters most is not how far he travelled.
It is the people who helped him get there.
