Cecil John Harvey Keeley [commonly known as Cecil J. H. Harvey] was born in
Melcombe Regis, Dorset, England on 4 October 1882 and was articled to E. C. J. Kerridge in Weymouth, Dorset from 1900 to 1904. He also attended Liverpool University. He worked as an assistant to A.C. Bothams, city survey for Salisbury, Wiltshire; assistant architect for the Earl Radnor Estates in Salisbury; temporary assistant at the engineering department of the Naval Harbour Works in Portland, Dorset; clerk of works and assistant for S. Gambier Parry; assistant architect for Ralph E. Macanuntil 1905; engineer to the City of Salisbury Council from 1905 to 1907; assistant to the county surveyor and architect of Dorset in 1908; clerk of works for Herbert Smith & Marshall to 1910; and architect and clerk of works for the Duke of Westminster's estates in 1911.
In 1912 Keeley moved to Australia and had settled in Victoria. He worked with the Commonwealth Service as an architect and draughtsman for about three years. In 1916 he began practising as an independent architect in Melbourne, and in 1917 he was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA). He continued to practice in Melbourne for several years.
Keeley was the author of Modern Homes (Melbourne, Victoria: Robertson & Mullens, 1923) and Bungalows and Modern Homes. A Series of Typical Designs and Plans (London: Batsford, 1928). His address was given as 443 Little Collins Street, Melbourne, and Normanby Road, Kew, Victoria in 1950. He died in Fitzroy, Victoria in 1951