Born in 1952 in Hannover Germany—of an English Father and German mother—Doc Togden was raised in Surrey, England.
He obtained school qualifications mainly in English and the Arts where he obtained A grades in English Language, Literature, and Art.
He was a founding member of the Savage Cabbage Blues Band – public from 1968–1970.
He attended Farnham Art School during 1970–1971 and Bristol Art School during 1972–1975 where he obtained a 1st class honours degree. In 1988 he obtained a doctorate from the Visva Bharati University of Santiniketan in West Bengal India for his research into Tantric Psychology.