Ernest George William Souster was born in Northampton, Northamtonshire, England in 1882. He was articled to William Hull in Northampton from 1898 to 1903 during which time he also attended Northampton School of Art. After leaving Hull's office, he worked as an assistant to Alexander Ellis Anderson (1866-1935) for just over a year. He qualified as an architect in 1904 and that year commenced independent practice as an architect in Northampton in partnership with Edmund Howard (1897-1960) as Howard & Souster. They were joined by Richard Robert Fairbairn, Howard Watkins and Reginald E. H. Croft in 1948 and the firm was renamed Howard, Souster & Partners. In March 1953 the practice was renamed Howard, Souster & Fairbairn.
Souster was elected an Associate of the Royal Institute of British Architects (ARIBA) in 1905 and a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects (FRIBA) in 1922.
Souster was the author of The Design of Factory and Industrial Buildings, with chapters on welfare work and industrial research departments, (London, Scott, Greenwood & Son, 1919)
His address was given as 13 St. John Street, Adelphi, London and 24 East Park Parade, Northampton, Northamptonshire in 1905; Stafford House, Crescent Gardens, Wimbledon Park, London in 1914; 3, St. James' Street, London in 1922 and 1938; 81 Piccadilly, London in 1938 and 1953; and Sullis Manor, Bath, Somerset in 1951. He died in Poole, Dorset on 13 November 1953
Reconstruction of "Beechholme," Wimbledon Common, 1920; billiards hall and café. Forest Gate, 1919; Kingsbury House, King Street. St. James', 1922; reconstruction of factories and depot. Old Street and Cowper Street, for the City Tailors, Ltd.. 1920; "Maskee", Arthur Road. Wimbledon (reconstruction and addition), 1922; shop premises: — Kilburn and Hammersmith (1922), Stoke Newington, Kentish Town, Notting Hill Gate and Putney (1923); "Nodden" Churt, Hindhead (residence), 1923; additions to "Lampton," Wimbledon Common, and Kinnaird Park School, Bromley. 1923; extensions, North British Rubber Co., Ltd., Tottenham Court Road: shop premises; Stratford, East Ham and Hammersmith, 1925; shops, domestic and industrial buildings. [Who's Who in Architecture 1926]
Directory of British Architects 1834-1914. Compiled by Antonia Brodie, et al. Volume 2: L-Z. London; New York: British Architectural Library, Royal Institute of British Architects/Continuum, 2001
‘Motor garages and service stations: their planning and equipment.’ British Builder vol. 13, January 1926 pp. 173-181 [Discusses the Ford car service garage in Highbury, London designed by E.G.W. Souster]
‘Obituary’. The Builder vol. 185, 27 November 1953 p. 852
‘Obituary’. RIBA Journal vol. 61, December 1953 pp. 81-82
Who’s Who in Architecture 1926. Edited by Frederick Chatterton. London: The Architectural Press, 1926