William Robert Davidge was born in Teddington, Middlesex, England on 17 February 1879. In 1896 he was articled to Marshall Hainsworth, Surveyor to the Teddington Urban District Council. From 1896 to 1900 he also studied architecture at University College, London and at King's College, London. He then worked as an assistant to William Edward Riley (1852-1937) in the Architects' Department of London County Council from 1902 to 1907. From 1907 to 1916 Davidge was District Surveyor for Lewisham, Greenwich, and Woolwich and in 1919 was appointed Housing Commissioner for the Southern Counties and later for the London area. From 1921 he practised as a town planning consultant. He produced Regional Planning Reports for West Kent, East Sussex, Berkshire, Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire. He also wrote numerous papers for professional societies, including the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Surveyors' Institution, and the Town Planning Institute.
Davidge was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1904 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1921. He was President of the Royal Town Planning Institute in 1926, and served as Chair of the Executive of the Garden Cities and Town Planning Association. He died in Gloucester on 23 December 1961.
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