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Leonard W. Forster Papers

The collection includes correspondence and articles by and about Joseph Breitbach (1956-1986), Wilhelm Lehmann (1950-1975), and Frederick 'Bimbo' Norman (1969-1973). Plus correspondence with J.R.R. Tolkien (1960-1961) and research notes and correspondence on the publication of German Poetry (1944-1948), to name a few here.

Professor L.W. Forster by Barker Fairley (1887-1986) (jl) 900px.jpg
Portrait of L.W. Forster by Canadian artist Barker Fairley (1887-1986) from the archive

Leonard William Forster was born in London on 30 March 1913. He was educated at Marlborough College, Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where he obtained his BA in 1934 and MA in 1938, and the University of Basle, where he was awarded the Dr phil degree in 1938. He then served as English Lektor at the University of Leipzig in 1934, at the University of Königsberg from 1935 to1936, and the University of Basle from 1936 to 1938.

He held Fellowships at Selwyn College, Cambridge from 1937 to 1950 and from 1961 to1997. During the Second World War, he served as a codebreaker at Bletchley Park, holding the rank of Lt Cdr RNVR.

He was Professor of German at University College London from 1950 to1961, and was appointed Schröder Professor of German at the University of Cambridge in 1961, a post which he held until 1979. From 1970 to 1975 he served as the President of the Internationale Vereingung für Germanistik (IVG). He died in Cambridge on 18 April 1997.

University of London Archives

University of London, Institute of Languages, Cultures and Societies