Nottingham City Transport (NCT) has marked the retirement of one its employees after her 42 years with the operator brought to an end 122 years of combined service by her family.
Travel centre administrator Karen Allen, who joined the company in 1980, retired this week after more than four decades of continuous employment, following in the footsteps of her long-serving grandfather, uncle and father.
Karen’s grandfather started with NCT in 1932 as a bus driver and transferred to the engineering department after World War II for 22 years.
In 1941, Karen’s uncle joined NCT as a blacksmith for 24 years. He was followed by Karen’s father, Bernard, who is now in his early nineties, having served 26 years in the engineering department as a coachbuilder and trimmer.
Karen began as an engineering administrator and then performed administrative work across the business, which included launching and running NCT’s Direct Debit system for 20 years.
NCT thanked for the family for their enduring service by welcoming back Bernard for Karen’s retirement presentation.
Karen says: “I have thoroughly enjoyed working for NCT and will miss the laughs and banter with customers and colleagues.”
NCT Managing Director David Astill adds: “I was pleased to thank Karen for dedicating the best part of her working life to NCT with 42 and a half years’ service. It was an added bonus to also meet her father, Bernard, and celebrate with them the combined service of the Allen family of 122 years which must be very close to, if not, a record.
“I congratulate the Allen family on a phenomenal achievement and hope that Karen has a retirement in duration to match that of 91-year-old Bernard.“
