Alfred Joseph Clay

1932 - 2025

Alfred Joseph Clay was born on June 22nd, 1932, in a house next to a farm at 141 Stonehouse Lane, Woodgate Valley, to Arthur and Mary Clay. As the middle son of a large family of eleven children, one of Alf's (as he preferred to be called) earliest memories was standing behind his mother at the door, listening to a brother present a sermon. What impressed him most was the brother's peace and composure while telling his mother about a new kingdom.

As a child during World War II, Alf vividly remembered seeing a plane writing in the sky with its vapour trail, "Britain is now at war." After leaving school at 14, he became an apprentice at the Austin Motor Company. Later, he was conscripted into the army, where he served as a radio operator and was stationed in Tripoli, Libya, before the Suez Crisis. One of his memorable experiences there was frying an egg on a tank due to the extreme heat.

A Love Story

Alf met the love of his life, Sarah Cheek, a postmistress from Northfield, while playing table tennis with Barry and Helen at Allen's Cross Club. Their romance blossomed during a cycling trip to Stratford with their friends. When Sarah fell off her bike and began bleeding, Alf came to her rescue—removing his shirt, tearing a piece to make a bandage, and tenderly cleaning her wound. This caring act marked the beginning of their lifelong love.

Sarah's mother sold their house to help her brother establish a fireplace shop in Liverpool. Missing Alf terribly, Sarah returned to Birmingham and lodged with an elderly lady who encouraged her to bake Alf an apple pie with custard, suggesting that "the way to a man's heart is through his stomach." Alf declared it the best apple pie he had ever eaten and was captivated from that moment on.

After serving in the army for six months, Alf, quite mischievously, claimed Sarah was pregnant to secure leave to return home and marry her—a plan that also conveniently allowed him to claim income tax benefits. Sarah, who was always savvy with finances, supported this scheme. They married on March 31st, 1951, holding their reception at Jim's (her brother) house before honeymooning at the Cottage in the Woods Hotel in Malvern. On their first morning as a married couple, they rose early for a walk up the hills, venturing above the cloud line, before Alf returned to his army duties.

While stationed away, Alf discovered a talent for cutting hair, offering his services to officers and fellow soldiers. The tips he earned were dutifully sent home to "Nanny" for safekeeping.

Upon returning to England, the couple initially lived in a caravan at the top of Romsley. Each morning, they would catch the bus together from the hilltop before heading in different directions to work—Alf to the Austin Motor Company. Following the birth of their first son, Rob, they moved in with Alf's mother at 72 Chevron to save money for their future home at 8 Gentian Road.

A Spiritual Journey

After his military service, Alf joined the police force, where he learned to drive. While living in West Heath and fresh from training on arresting peddlers, he received a visit from a brother named Jim Perry. Seeing an opportunity for an easy arrest, Alf waited for Jim to offer him some magazines. However, Jim only used the Bible and asked thought-provoking questions that sparked Alf's interest. Instead of making an arrest, Alf invited Jim back to discuss more. Feeling remorseful about his initial intentions, Alf was reminded of Jesus's words to Saul: "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me!" He subsequently invited Jim and Charlie King to return.

When Sarah told Charlie that her mother had died and was in heaven, she was upset when he laughed at her belief. However, all was forgiven when Charlie showed them the Bible's promise of a resurrection on earth, which led to the beginning of their Bible study.

Sarah, having been raised Catholic, was initially vehemently opposed to what she considered an "American Religion." Nevertheless, Alf could share his newfound beliefs and convince her of his discovered truth. They were baptised as Jehovah's Witnesses in 1960. Unfortunately, Alf found that as he was still a police officer and had sworn allegiance to the Queen then, he had to give up being an officer of the law and be baptised again, fully dedicating his life to Jehovah. This decision was difficult and presented an example of Satan's machinations when, as Alf handed in his notice, he was tempted to stay after being offered a position as a detective—considered the holy grail for constables then. Through his reliance on Jehovah, Alf remained gainfully employed and supported his wife and firstborn son, Robert. During this period, he actively supported the West Heath congregation, even participating in constructing the original Kingdom Hall there, built entirely by volunteers in their spare time.

Growing Family and Service

As Alf and Sarah matured in their faith, they welcomed two more sons, Timothy and John, before moving with his young family to a mobile home in Blackwell, Bromsgrove, to serve "where the need was greater." Alf became the congregation servant there, and after a few years of caring for the congregation, he was noticeably moved to tears at the announcement at the district assembly in 1972 regarding the new elder arrangement. He saw this as a remarkable change that would benefit every congregation and help distribute the responsibility of caring for the flock more evenly.

By this time, Alf was working as a school caretaker at Catshill Primary School, having moved from the mobile home to a new house in Catshill. The congregation meetings were held in a dance room above Hepworth's tailors in Bromsgrove. His police training proved valuable one Sunday when he and another brother had to physically block an aggrieved, unbelieving husband who had burst into the room after getting past the attendant, noisily coming up the stairs to the entrance door (with the congregation facing the entrance door as the stage was next to it). This disruption occurred during the Watchtower study, with the man demanding that his wife leave the meeting and come home immediately. While the brother conducting the survey tried to encourage the man, referred to as Bill, to sit down and wait for the meeting to finish, Alf and Dennis (who appeared to be standing a foot shorter, at least to a young observer) quietly whispered to him, after which Bill stormed off, much to the excitement of all the children present at the meeting that day.

Although access to the Kingdom Hall required passing through a sour milk-smelling back entry via a dairy at the rear, Alf helped secure an old church hall in the middle of a housing estate in Sidemore. While the hall was renovated, the congregation had to share a hall in Droitwich, necessitating a coach ride from Bromsgrove for several months. Occasionally, this arrangement also required travelling to use the Worcester congregation's facilities.

Eventually, the new Kingdom Hall was ready, and the brothers finally praised Jehovah for blessing them with their own place of worship. Unfortunately, after a few years of using the hall, Alf received a late-night call informing him that the building was in flames, leaving only a shell after the roof burned off. It was believed that a disgruntled opposing husband had started the fire by putting a firebomb through the letterbox. Ironically, this act ultimately benefited the congregation, as the insurance covered a new roof and proper heating system—the vandal had inadvertently done the congregation a "backhanded favour" by enabling the replacement of the tired old roof and the installation of better facilities.

By this time, Alf had become the caretaker at Bromsgrove District Council House in St John Street and faithfully served the congregation there, even relocating when the Council moved to new offices in Burcot Lane. He retired at 65 and moved with Sarah to a small bungalow in Newtown, Wales, where they faithfully attended the local congregation for several years.

Later Years

Tragically, Sarah was diagnosed with cancer when Alf was 71 and passed away in 2003. Alf moved in with his son Timothy and daughter-in-law Marlene in Hagley. Alf remained there, alternating between the Stourbridge, Bromsgrove, and Halesowen Congregations. Throughout his ministry, he consistently mentored interested individuals, from Reg Troth, a deaf brother, to Derek Thistleton, a large Leyland shop steward, to Cedric Halward, a biker, and finally to Nigel Hanson, a brother from his village.

While preparing to attend his weekly harmonica club, where he continuously performed at least one Kingdom song, Alf felt unwell. He got as far as the end of the path before turning around to return to the house. Sadly, he passed away at home shortly after.

At 92, Alf had served Jehovah faithfully for many years as a devoted brother who had "fought the fine fight to the finish." Known for his kindness to everyone and for posing challenging scriptural questions like "Is it better to be a righteous man or a good one?" He will be deeply missed by his family and friends, who look forward to seeing his influence in the promised paradise.

Notable Experiences

During his two-week training at Bethel to become a congregation servant, Alf's most demanding task was stamping down leaves he had collected at Mill Hill while on garden duty. His tutor repeatedly instructed him to "go back and stamp them leaves down, then go back and stamp them leaves down some more!" (a scriptural reference). He also befriended Edgar Clay (no relation), who served as a Bethelite for many years.

Alf and Sarah once travelled to the Holy Lands, beginning their journey in Greece. While visiting the Parthenon, they were given small parcels from the brothers and told that these were gifts for brothers they would meet later in their travels. Upon reaching Israel, they were instructed to leave the parcels in their hotel room until they continued to Egypt. When boarding the coach to cross the border, they were asked to place the parcels under their seats. After disembarking in Egypt for sightseeing, they returned to find the parcels gone—unknowingly, they had become literature smugglers!

An audience member tried to get Alf's attention during one of his talks. Still, after acknowledging her, he continued as if nothing had happened, demonstrating his focus and composure.

Alf also assisted with the Kingdom Hall construction in Mosta, Malta, extending his service beyond his local community.