An RAF Marham officer is about to become part of the history he loves so much, as he steps down after 38 years in the service.

Steve Roberts joined the RAF as a 16-year-old in 1978, and became station warrant officer at RAF Marham in 2014, a role that has now been taken over by Graham Spark.

Mr Roberts is not leaving the west Norfolk base, however, as he will stay on for two days a week as curator and archivist at the aviation heritage museum. He will also continue to be a voluntary crewman with Sheringham RNLI inshore lifeboat.

He said: 'I've had a really special time in the RAF. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a career,

'I'm happy to have been a part of this story. The story of RAF Marham is not finished yet, it's continuing history. But I've become a part of the history that I love.

'I arrived at RAF Marham in 2009 to work with logistics in partnership with BAE Systems. I became the logistics squadron warrant office, and then station warrant officer in 2014. The favourite part of my career has been meeting the Queen at Buckingham Palace to collect my MBE.'

Mr Roberts hopes to make the heritage museum, which he was instrumental in setting up, the hub for all military museums in East Anglia.

He added: 'I spent time at the RAF Hendon museum to find out how we can make ours better than it is.

'It's becoming a learning archive for schools, colleges and cadets, with more than 15,000 documents. We want youngsters to learn from the RAF's core values.' Mr Roberts, who lives in north Norfolk, has served in a variety of locations around the world with the RAF, and has been involved in operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya.

RAF Marham is celebrating its centenary this year and personnel from the base paraded through King's Lynn last week, exercising their Freedom of the Borough.

Are you retiring after long service? Email david.bale2@archant.co.uk