Gerard Richardson (author)

The festivals were held in 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009 and then annually until 2013. Between 2013 and 2015, the company organised two Home and Garden Festivals, a First World War Parade with air shows, and their final event was the Western Lakes Film Festival in June 2015. The latter event is credited with the temporary re-opening of the town's only cinema, the Gaiety, which closed 12 years earlier. In addition to his work with the festivals, he also organised a number of other events during the same period. He announced his retirement from events in 2015, and the Festival Company closed down in 2016. == Awards and honours ==

He was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Civil Division Medal for services to Cumbrian Tourism and services to the Community in the 2011 New Years Honours List. Cumbrian News Lifetime Achievement in Business award 2012. Cumbria Community Heroes Lifetime Achievement award 2015. Commended by the United States Ambassador to the UK in 2010 for furthering relations between the UK and USA. He was Appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant for the County of Cumbria on 18 April 2022. This gave him the Post Nominal Letters "DL" for Life. ==After retirement==

He runs Richardson's of Whitehaven, a wine and coffee merchants, in the town and is working on his first novel. ==References==