David George Vaisey

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(born 15 March 1935) is a British librarian who was

Bodley's Librarian The head of the Bodleian Library, the main library at the University of Oxford, is known as Bodley's Librarian: Sir Thomas Bodley, as founder, gave his name to both the institution and the position. Although there had been a university library at ...

(head of the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

) from 1986 until 1996.

Life

Vaisey was educated at

Rendcomb College Rendcomb College is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for pupils aged 13–18), located in the village of Rendcomb five miles north of Cirencester in Gloucestershire, England. Rendcomb College was founded in 1920 ...

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...

and at Exeter College, Oxford, where he studied

Modern History The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

, graduating in 1959, followed by qualification as an archivist at the Bodleian Library in 1960. While performing his

National Service National service is the system of voluntary government service, usually military service. Conscription is mandatory national service. The term ''national service'' comes from the United Kingdom's National Service (Armed Forces) Act 1939. The l ...

he was commissioned as a

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in the

Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...

on 23 April 1955, and transferred to the Territorial Army on 21 September 1956, and was promoted acting

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

on 28 December 1956. His ''Who's Who'' entry states also he served with the King's African Rifles. After working as assistant archivist for Staffordshire County Council between 1960 and 1963, he joined the

in Oxford in 1963, initially as Assistant Librarian before becoming Senior Assistant Librarian, then Keeper of Western Manuscripts at the Bodleian in 1975; he also became a

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of Exeter College in 1975. He was, in addition, Deputy Keeper of the Oxford University Archives between 1966 and 1975. He was appointed Bodley's Librarian in 1986, succeeding John Jolliffe who had died in the previous year. He retired from the Bodleian in 1996, with the title of Bodley's Librarian Emeritus, and was appointed a Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(CBE) in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

. Between 1995 and 2000, he was

Keeper of the Archives The position of Keeper of the Archives at the University of Oxford in England dates from 1634, when it was established by new statutes for the university brought in by William Laud ( Archbishop of Canterbury and Chancellor of the University) ...

of the university. Other positions that he has held include a visiting professorship in Library Studies at the University of California Los Angeles (1985), membership of the

Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts The Royal Commission on Historical Manuscripts (widely known as the Historical Manuscripts Commission, and abbreviated as the HMC to distinguish it from the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England), was a United Kingdom Royal Com ...

(1986 to 1998), and President of the Society of Archivists from 1999 to 2002. He was made an Honorary Fellow of

Kellogg College, Oxford Kellogg College is a graduate-only constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1990 as Rewley House, Kellogg is the university's 36th college and the largest by number of students. It hosts research centres including ...

in 1996, and is a Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries and the

Royal Historical Society The Royal Historical Society, founded in 1868, is a learned society of the United Kingdom which advances scholarly studies of history. Origins The society was founded and received its royal charter in 1868. Until 1872 it was known as the Histori ...

. A historian with a particular interest in the use of local source materials, his publications include ''Staffordshire and The Great Rebellion'' (1964, jointly), ''Victorian and Edwardian Oxford from old photographs'' (1971, jointly), ''The Diary of Thomas Turner 1754–65'' (1984) and various journal articles.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaisey, David George Living people 1935 births Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford English librarians Bodley's Librarians Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Fellows of Exeter College, Oxford Gloucestershire Regiment officers King's African Rifles officers Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Fellows of the Royal Historical Society People educated at Rendcomb College Keepers of the Archives of the University of Oxford 20th-century British Army personnel