Local Face: Anthony Martin, CBE

Anthony Martin was awarded a CBE last June in the Queen's Jubilee Birthday Honours List for his services to charity. The investiture took place on Tuesday 14 February at Windsor Castle and the award was presented by His Majesty King Charles III.

Tony Martin was a war time baby, evacuated to the family farm in Essex, spent in the company of his grandmother mother, and cousins. As a young adult, Tony's school first XI cricket team beat the local Essex County side. The school was given a day off in recognition of this achievement! Instant popularity! Soon afterwards he went to the US for 3 months and ended up working there for over 20 years, rising to the position of President of a bank which was situated in Beverley Hills. This gave him the opportunity to meet many people well known in the entertainment industry.

He was headhunted and returned to England at a time when his mother started to become frail so everything fitted together well. He had moved to working in the recruitment and staffing industry, only recently retiring completely as Chairman of a global recruitment company based in the UK.

Perhaps the early experiences with animals inspired the love which led him to found the Anthony V Martin Charitable Foundation, endowing it solely with his own funds. The Foundation is dedicated to improving animal welfare around the world, starting with a project in Barbados. There were 9000 stray dogs on the island. Tony's team managed to round up almost all the dogs, using a neutering bus. Three vets worked on the dogs before freeing them. The stray dog population was reduced to 2000. With experience such projects became even more successful, for example in Tangiers where a sanctuary was established and neutered dogs released ensuring that the street problem reduced naturally. During the Covid crisis, the Foundation became a pandemic fund provider for organisations supporting dog welfare.

Tony’s Charitable Foundation has been supporting Legislation in the House of Commons, banning Trophy Hunting In Africa, and returning to the UK with Wild Animal parts. This led to him being given an Honorary Fellowship of the the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons in September 2021.

Tony said after the investiture, "It was a great honour to be awarded a CBE by His Majesty King Charles, it was an unforgettable day. I am very proud to have my work recognised in this way."