Tenby’s Roz Oak is celebrating her 45-year anniversary of working at the Yorkshire Building Society branch on Church Street, which opened its doors on August 20, 1979.

Roz Oak at Yorkshire Building Society's recent customer festival
Roz Oak at Yorkshire Building Society's recent customer festival (Pic supplied)

Roz works as a Customer Consultant at the Society’s Tenby branch, she joined the mutual on 13 August 1979, a week before the branch officially opened, and has worked there ever since.

She applied for a job at the then-new branch after her father Ray, who worked at the Tenby Observer at the time, spotted an advert for the role in the newspaper. When Roz joined the Society, the average price of a home was £17,354 a pint of milk cost 15p and the Boomtown Rats were topping the charts.

Roz isn’t the only long-serving colleague at the Tenby branch, manager Sian Rees has also worked there for 20 years, and has been with the Society for 35 years.

Roz said: “I’ve seen so many changes in my time at Yorkshire Building Society – when I started, the role was completely manual and now it is a lot more technical and computer based.

“I am so happy to celebrate 45 years at the Tenby branch. It’s the people - the colleagues and the customers - that have made it so special.”  

Roz and the team from the Tenby branch celebrate
Roz and the team from the Tenby branch celebrate (Pic supplied)

Sian said: “It’s been an honour working with Roz - the knowledge she holds about the Society is second to none. She’s been a familiar face for members of the local community for generations and has always been dedicated to delivering the best service possible.

“The Tenby branch has been at the heart of our community for 45 years. The world has changed so much since 1979, but it has been a privilege for our team, and colleagues who came before for us, to serve the community from our branch on Church Street for all this time.” 

Wayne Measor, Director of Retail Distribution and Transformation at Yorkshire Building Society said: “Congratulations to the Tenby team for their 45th anniversary and it is so wonderful that Roz has been there from the start. We’d like to thank her for her commitment and dedication over 45 years and celebrate this special milestone.

“Our branch network is very important to us, so we are so proud that the team in Tenby has reached this milestone and served the local community since 1979.”

To celebrate 45 years since the branch opened, and Roz’s anniversary, the team at the Tenby branch will be celebrating, from August 13 to August 20, with goodies for customers.