Richard Gardner is an experienced public
relations consultant, author and editor, specializing in aerospace,
defense and transport as well as high tech industry.
He started his career with the British Airports Authority where he
became public relations officer at Head Office.
After six years at BAA he joined the Government Information Service and worked for Royal Air Force Public Relations for 11 years, including posts as Editor of "Dateline RAF," and Deputy Editor of "RAF News." He later became Deputy Command Public Relations Officer in RAF Germany and was Joint Services Public Relations Officer South Atlantic, from May-October 1983, based at Port Stanley, Falkland Islands. After leaving MOD in 1985 he became a consultant at Charles Barker, based in the City of London, and was responsible, as Account Director, for handling media relations for the defense divisions of The Plessey Company and for six years was UK PR consultant to Airbus Industrie, establishing a high profile public image with intensive media and political support programs.
He left Charles Barker as a Board Director in 1992 to set up an independent specialist consultancy, concentrating on marketing support media relations, Government consultancy and writing. Major clients have included Thomson-Thorn, Messier-Dowty and Dowty Aerospace, Dassault Aviation, Matra Marconi Space, London Electricity, The Ministry of Defence, the Central Office of Information, The Air League, The Cobham Group (previously the FR Group) and a number of PR and marketing consultancies, in the UK and overseas. He has written several aviation books, including a comprehensive history of helicopters in use with the British Services. He has subsequently worked closely with a very large number of companies in the aerospace, transport and defense industries, and Government departments.
Richard Gardner Associates was responsible for organizing all PR aspects of the Royal Navy and British Army Equipment Exhibition in 1993 and 1995 including the media accreditation and running the press centre on behalf of MOD. In 1994 Gardner was appointed PR adviser for the official D-Day Commemorations at Southsea, and in 1995 was involved, as PR consultant to the Government's World War II Commemorations Team, in all publicity aspects of the official VE and VJ Day activities in London, the largest events of their kind ever held in the UK.
Gardner was Senior European correspondent for Asian Business Press for a number of years and is currently European Correspondent for Aircraft & Aerospace, published in Australia. He also contributes regularly to a number of aerospace magazines and edits the monthly newsletter of the Air League and Parliamentary Aerospace Group. He is joint Secretary of the Air Public Relations Association and was also a founder, of the Guild of Aviation Artists. He is a member of the Aviation Club of Great Britain and has been a member of the Institute of Public Relations since 1977. He is a Trustee and Chairman of the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust and a member of the Rushmoor Council Aerodrome Consultative Panel.