Kevin William Latchford was born on 21 January 1927 in Sydney, Australia. He entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in 1945, graduating in 1947 as a Lieutenant. He was posted to Japan as part of the British Commonwealth Occupation Force in 1948. He was then seconded to the British Army on the Rhine. Latchford returned to Australia in 1950 and was posted to Puckapunyal and the Armoured School. After a few years in both Western Australia and Victoria, he moved to Canberra in 1959 with his family. Latchford re-joined the British Army on the Rhine in 1962, serving with the 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales Own) at the time with the rank of Major. He returned to Army Headquarters in Canberra in 1964 and in 1966 was posted to Sydney.

Then Lieutenant Colonel, Latchford served in Vietnam with the 1st Civil Affairs Unit from 1968 to 1969. After returning to Australia he took up the role of Commanding Officer of the 1st Armoured Regiment, at Puckapunyal. In 1973 Brigadier Latchford took command of 6th Task Force based at Enoggera, Brisbane. In 1975, he returned to Canberra after his appointment as Director General of Defence Recruiting. In 1978, he was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia (Military Division). In 1981, now a Major General, he took on the role of Director General of the National Disaster Organisation. Major General Latchford retired from the Army in 1984.

Kevin William Latchford died on 24 February 2013.