Thomas Simons Attlee [also known as Tom Attlee] was born in Wandsworth, Surrey [now London], England on 18 October 1880. After studying at Oxford University, he was articled to Charles Edward Barry (1855-1937) in London in 1902. He also attended classes at the Architectural Association Schools in London. He qualified as an architect in 1906. He initially practised in London but by 1920 had moved his practice to the West Country, first to Devon and then, by 1923 to Cornwall.
Attlee was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1907 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1939. He was awarded the RIBA Silver Medal (Essays) in 1914. He was the author of Man and His Buildings (London: Swarthmore Press, 1920).
His address was given as 18, Portinscale Road, East Putney, London in 1901 and 1912; 32 Craven Street, Strand, London in 1907; 52, Surrey Street, London in 1914; 3 West Cliff, Seaton, Devon in 1920; Woodlands, Dovoran, Cornwall in 1923 and 1926; Leory Croft, Perranwell Station [Perranarworthal], Truro, Cornwall in 1928 and 1961.
Thomas Simons Attlee was a brother of the British Prime Minister Clement Attlee (1883-1967). During World War One, he was a conscientious objector and was imprisoned, first in Wormwood Scrubs and later in Wandsworth Gaol, from January 1917 to April 1919. He died in Truro, Cornwall on 11 October 1960.
Houses at Salisbury and Fleet, Hampshire
Attlee, Peggy. With a Quiet Conscience: Biography of Thomas Simons Attlee 1880-1960. London: Dove & Chough Press, 1995
Attlee, Thomas Simons. Man and his buildings. London : Swarthmore Press. 1920
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 1: A-K. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001