It was during this period of his formative teenage years that, through personal contact, Alvarez joined Peter Hain in his Anti-Apartheid campaigns, work which he continued later at university as a young student in the early 1970s.

[citation needed] Returning to London after 3 years in a northern university, Alvarez discovered the Gay Liberation Front (GLF),[1] recently imported from the Stonewall riots of New York in the late 1960s.

Disillusioned with the downturn of fascist trends in London (with the rise of the British National Front), Alvarez took up the possibility of work in the Middle East, on what he considered to be an adventure, for 6 months.

One of his first undertakings on The Rock was to produce an in-depth study and MA thesis on bilingualism in the Gibraltar educational system from nursery schools all the way through to adult vocational training.

A copy was deposited with the John Mackintosh Hall and has become a reference point for international researchers regarding the impact of bilingualism in a community.

Experiencing difficulties as a result of insurmountable bureaucracy and prejudice regarding his non-EU same-sex partner, Alvarez determined to start challenging discrimination of sexual minorities in Gibraltar.

In a GBC television news broadcast on 4 September 2000, Alvarez announced that "the fear factor" was over as far as gay citizens were concerned.

Under his Chairmanship, ERG has achieved important changes in Gibraltarian society, prompting important debate on a range of social political issues, but in particular the following:[citation needed] Alvarez's vision has always been the establishment of comprehensive links across other areas of discrimination – whether disability, age, children's rights or any other area of social concern.

as well as qualifications in social and community work, in addition to in the teaching of English as a Second or Other Language) he undertook a law degree (LLB).

[citation needed] Committed to widening democracy, Alvarez continues to seek means by which more open and participative involvement of citizens concerned for human and civil rights can be furthered in the community of Gibraltar.

Alvarez was appointed an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire for services to the advancement of equality and human rights in Gibraltar in the 2013 Queen's Birthday Honours.

Desert Storm started the day I was supposed to fly back from Heathrow to Saudi Arabia, and I'd been told I'd be on double pay for the duration of the war!