Valentine Harding [also known as Val Harding] was born in Kensington, London, England in 1905 and studied at the Architectural Association Schools in London from 1927 to 1931. In 1932 Harding was one of the six ex-AA students recruited by the Russian émigré architect Berthold Lubetkin (1901-1990) for his architectural collective Tecton, one of the most radical architectural groups in London in the 1930s. Soon after joining Tecton, Harding designed Six Pillars, a house in Crescent Road, London for or the Rev. J. H. Leakey, headmaster of the Dulwich College Preparatory School. Work began on the house in 1932 and was completed in 1935.
Soon after completing Seven Pillars, Harding left Tecton to set up his own practice with Godfrey Samuel (1904-1982) one of the other Tecton partners. Harding and Samuel designed houses in Sussex, Oxford, Poole and Hampstead. One of Harding's last projects was the design and construction of an evacuation and holiday camp for Dulwich College Preparatory School in Cranbrook, Kent in 1938.
Harding was killed during the retreat from Dunkerque, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France on 27 [26 or 30 - sources differ] May 1940, whilst serving in the Army during World War Two
‘Obituary’. The Architect and Building News vol. 162, 21 June 1940 p. 22
‘Obituary’. The Architects’ Journal vol. 91, 27 June 1940 p. 634
Powers, Alan. Modern. The Modern Movement in Britain. London: Merrell, 2005
‘Valentine Harding’. Dulwich Society Newsletter no. 153, Summer 2007 pp. 32-33