Several Cumbrians have been honoured in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
Jonathan Johnson, chief executive of West Lakes Multi-Academy Trust, has been given an OBE for his services to education.
Mr Johnson heads the trust, which sponsors West Lakes Academy in Egremont and Arlecdon, Dearham, Flimby and Thornhill primary schools.
MBEs for prominent Cumbrians
Adam Sutherland has been awarded an MBE for services to the arts. Mr Sutherland was appointed as director of Grizedale Arts in 1999 and since 2003, has led the organisation’s strategic and operational development of its headquarters. Additional to his prodigious output at Grizedale Arts, he has curated projects for commissioners such as Hauser & Wirth Somerset, Irish Museum of Modern Art (Dublin), PS1 / MoMA in New York and Jerwood Visual Arts in London.
Cath Giel has been awarded an MBE for services to the nuclear industry and the West Cumbrian community.
Currently director of communications and stakeholder relations for LLWR Ltd at Drigg, she has undertaken a range of roles within the nuclear and related industries over the past 38 years. She worked in a number of administrative and public affairs roles for British Nuclear Fuels Ltd (BNFL) before specialising in developing the marketing of the Sellafield Visitor Centre.
Ms Giel played a major role in the team developing the concept, engaging financial and political support, and the successful implementation of Westlakes Science Park.
Les Micklethwaite, of Lakeland Motor Museum in Backbarrow, near Ulverston, has been given an MBE for his voluntary and charitable services to the community. In 2014, the museum began fundraising for the Royal British Legion and reached £10,000 in 2019, the centenary of the start of World War One.
Nigel Wilkinson, managing director of Windermere Lake Cruises Ltd, has been given an MBE for services to tourism and to the economy in Cumbria.
He has played a pivotal role in the development of Cumbria’s wider visitor economy in his role as Cumbria LEP board member and chairs its Visitor Economy Sector Panel. He is also chair of its finance, audit and resources committee.
A highly-regarded business leader, Mr Wilkinson also sits on the national Tourism Industry Council and is a director of Winander Group Holdings Limited, Lakeland Motor Museum Limited, Rushbond plc and South Cumbria Rivers Trust. He is a past chair of the Lake District National Park Partnership’s Business Task Force and served as a director of Cumbria Tourism for almost a decade before retiring in 2017.
Also awarded MBEs are:
- Jane Atkins, water resource specialist for the Environment Agency, for services to water resources and the natural environment in North West England.
- Sarah Maria Bradbury, officer, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, for services to farming and to the administration of justice.
Orders of the British Empire
And three people have been awarded with the Order of the British Empire, known as BEMs:
- Martin David Railton, founder of Appleby Archaeology Group, for services to the community in Appleby.
- Robert Sutcliffe, of Grange-over-Sands, for voluntary and charitable services to people with epilepsy.
- Ronald Douglas East, for services to the restoration of church bells and to bell ringing in Cumbria.
