Institution news
The Group was constituted on the 11 July 1958 under the Chairmanship of Captain John Garth Watson RN, who achieved the rank of Rear-Admiral and served as Secretary of the Institution of Civil Engineers from 1967 to 1979. The sponsoring institutions were the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE), Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) and Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) now the IET.
A special 60th anniversary booklet outlining the history of the Group and other events and facts was produced.
Events started on the 27 June 2018, the GGPE held a prize award ceremony to school pupils who had taken part in an essay, poster and model competition on the subject of Engineering. The Hon. Prof. John Cortes, Minister for Heritage, Education and Energy handed the prizes.
The main event on the 11 July 2018 consisted of a joint visit to Gibraltar by the Presidents of the sponsoring institutions - Lord Robert Mair (ICE), Mr. John Wood (IMechE) and Mr. Mike Carr (IET).
The Presidents each delivered a talk to members at the historic King’s Chapel and later joined members and guests to a dinner in the iconic Mons Calpe Suite located at the very top of the Rock of Gibraltar with breathtaking magnificent views of two continents: Europe and Africa, separated by the Strait of Gibraltar, and two seas: the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Ocean. His Excellency The Governor of Gibraltar Lt. General Edward Davis and Minister for Culture Hon. Steven Linares MP (representing the Chief Minister – who was unable to attend due to urgent international matters) were our guests.
During the day, the Presidents visited a brand new LNG power station, currently being commissioned, and the large and historic water works reservoirs, hewn deep into the rock. They also attended a lunch with business leaders and were interviewed for a special programme on engineering for the local television station.
The Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Hon. Fabian Picardo QC MP hosted a courtesy call by the Presidents in his office.
To finish off the celebrations, on the 27 September 2018, the Chief Minister hosted a tea party during which he graciously did the first cut of a cake commissioned for the event bearing the Group’s logo.
All the events were covered by the local media.