Kenneth Garside

Who is Kenneth Garside?

Lieutenant Colonel Kenneth Garside was a librarian, information theorist and World War II British Intelligence Corps officer.

Born in Bradford in 1913, he was educated at Bradford Grammar School and Leeds University. He became an Assistant Librarian at Leeds University in 1937, before going to war in 1939. He was commissioned into the Intelligence Corps in 1941, and served in the Headquarters, 21 Army Group, in 1945, where he was instrumental in establishing The Intelligence Library of the Control Commission for Germany in Bad Oeynhausen.

After the war, he worked as Deputy Librarian at University College London, from 1945–1958; although he continued working with the British occupation in Germany, such as on the Enemy Publications Committee - making German learned documents published during the war available to British academics. He became Librarian at King's College London in 1958, and remained there until 1974. He ended his professional career as Goldsmiths' Librarian and Director of Central Library Services in the University of London between 1974 and 1978. He served on many public bodies connected with library, university and cultural work.