British Forces employee retires after 35 years

A long-serving British Forces Gibraltar employee has retired from her job after 35 years of service.

Marie Martinez joined the Ministry of Defence as a casual clerical assistance in December 1984 and was initially told not to make herself too comfortable and was warned that the Dockyard was closing down.

But during her 35 years of service she has moved around the MOD, moving to the former Principal Supply and Transport Organisation (Naval), before moving to the budgets area for nearly 25 years and then being transferred to the library at HMS Rooke.

She worked in this department for nearly nine years until its closure in 2013, becoming a qualified para-professional in the library and information field.

After the library closure, Mrs Martinez was instrumental in donating the books and the shelves to the Government of Gibraltar to use at the John Mackintosh Hall Library.

Mrs Martinez moved to Devil’s Tower Camp and took over the position as the manager in the Joint Education and Training Services for the last three years of her MOD career.

During these three years, the Joint Education and Training Services department achieved notable success in the field of Functional Skills for Command personnel.

Mrs Martinez, and her husband, Kevin, hope to use this time to travel.