Description
General Service Medal, GVI, bar Malaya, Lieutenant Edwin Alfred “Ted” Garside, Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers.
Officially impressed: “Lt E.A. Garside. R.E.”
First commissioned from a Cadet to be 2nd Lt on 15th October 1949.
Promoted to Lieutenant on 26th April 1951.
Promoted Captain on 15th October 1955.
London Gazette 1st Feb 1966 announces:
“Captain Edwin Alfred Garside 406389 from Short Service Commission to be 2nd Lt 19th Nov 1965, with seniority of 22nd May 1949, to be Lt, 19th November 1965, with seniority 22nd May 1951. To be Capt, 19th Nov 1965 with seniority 22nd May 1955.”
Promoted to Major on 30th June 1970, on Special Reg Commision.
Retires on Retired Pay from his Special Reg Commn on 2nd April 1982, it having been 33 years since his first commission, originally on a short service commission he transferred over to full time and stayed for over 3 decades.
Major Edwin Alfred Garside was born in 1922, and later died during 1983 in Windsor & Maidenhead, Berkshire.
The following story about Lt Garside and his wife was published locally in 1953 in the Fleetwood Chronicle on 20th March 1953:
“Life as the wife of a regular serviceman suits a woman with a zest for new experiences, and one of these is Miss Barbara Garside, formerly Miss Lumb, of Agnew-road, who is looking forward to travelling to Singapore in May with her 20 month old son Keith to join the Husband there.
He is Lieut Ted Garside, only son of Mr and Mrs A. Garside, a former Head Boy of Fleetwood Grammar School, he is now on his way to the Far East.
An old student of the Grammar School, too, Mrs Garside first met her husband there. The boy and girl friendship turned into a romance when they met again when Lieut Garside was home on vacation from Bristol University where he was studying to a Mathematic Teacher.
National Service interrupted his studies, and after he was commissioned he decided to exchange a school future for a service one and joined the Regular Army.
SOCIAL LIFE
Soon afterwards Lieut Garside and Miss Lumb were married, Lieut Garside was stationed with REME near Reading, lecturing on an Officers Course, Mrs Garside joined him there.
‘There was plenty of social life and most of the toher wives were about my own age. I thoroughly enjoyed myself.’ Mrs Garside told me.
She came back to Fleetwood for a short time, just for the birth of her son.
Domestic Help
In Singapore, Lieut Garside will take up a Captaincy and start practical work in REME Workshops – something he has always wanted to do for along time.
There will be a house or bungalow for the family, plenty of domestic help for Mrs Garside, someone to look after Keith and a Wives Club where she can find new friends.
Lieut and Mrs Garside expect to be in Singapore for at least 3 years, and will probably spend some of their leave visiting friends in Australia.”
An updated was given on 24th April 1953:
“MET IN MALAYA
Mrs Barbara Garside of Agnew Road, has heard that her husband Captain Ted Garside, who was posted to Singapore, was offered on his arrival a posting to Kuala Lumpur, Malaya, to take charge of REME Headquarters there.
He accepted, and on his arrival in the mess there, saw on the table and Evening Gazette football Green, ‘Is there someone here from Blackpool’ he asked.
‘From Fleetwood.’ came the reply.
So Captain Garside met Captain Ted Formstone, lives in Dronsfield Road.
And to make coincidence more coincidental, Captain Garside found that Captain Formstone’s brother works with his own father in law for the Boston Company.
ON WAY OUT
Captain Garside travels a great deal as part of his duty and has been assigned a plane and a car and driver to carry him about what is still Bandit Country.
‘But’ he writes to his wife, who is waiting for notification to join her husban diwh their son Keith, who is nearly 2, ‘The Bandits are on their way out’.”
His message was later posted on the front page of the Fleetwood Chronicle on 2nd October 1953:
“Eagerly Awaited
Captain E.A. Garside, REME, Kuala Lipis, Malaya, writes:
Sincere thanks for producing an excellent paper. Every Copy of the Chronicle is eagerly awaited by Fleetwood people away from home, particularly those serving overseas in the Services.”
