Garth Collard

27^th December 1939 – June 2020

Garth Collard was a dedicated teacher and a distinguished local historian.  Whilst at Queens’ he was awarded a College half-colour in Badminton and was Chair of the University Labour Club.  After graduating with an upper second in history, he gained early teaching experience at the Simon Langton Grammar School, Canterbury where he met his wife, Elaine.  He then became Head of History at a comprehensive school, the Cleeve School in the Cotswolds.  In 1974 he moved with his wife and young children to Germany to be Head of Humanities at the King’s School, Gutersloh for four years.  His variety of teaching experience was useful when he became Deputy Head at the Village School, Linton in 1978. 

He soon developed a strong interest in the history of Linton and founded the Linton and District Historical Society in 1984.  He gave frequent lectures to the Society that he chaired and wrote numerous articles and pamphlets on local history and led guided walks around the village’s many historical buildings.   Meanwhile he pursued a thorough and systematic study of Linton’s history paying particular attention to the historical record.  He obtained a Schoolmaster Fellowship to Pembroke College, Cambridge in 1986 that enabled him to study in detail information relevant to Linton as the College had, and still has, major land holdings in the area.  In 2006, he published A History of Linton in Photographs. His work was recognised by the award of an MBE in the 2008 Honours List for “services to local history”. 

Garth continued to be active in local history even after he suffered a severe stroke.  All of this work was essentially done in his spare time, as he was prominent in teaching and the running of the Village College throughout.  He became very well-known and much respected locally by former pupils.  After he retired, he carried out many inspections for Ofsted during which he came especially interested in disadvantaged pupils.

He is survived by his wife Elaine, three children and eight grandchildren.

David Collard

2^nd June 2021