Person

Hepworth, Philip Dalton, 1888-1963

1888-1963

British architect and illustrator Philip Hepworth was trained from 1906-1910 at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London and at the École des Beaux Arts in Paris. He then assisted London architect Walter Frederick Cave and travelled in France. He passed his qualifying exam with the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1911 and, with a scholarship from the RIBA, spent time in Rome in 1914. World War I interrupted this travel. After serving during World War I, the young lieutenant with the Royal Engineers returned to pursue his architectural career in England. A 1931 illustrated book by Trystan Edwards, part of a series on the foremost architects of the time, showcased Hepworth’s work and brought him recognition. His first important work was designing a town hall complex for the borough of Walthamstow (known as the Waltham Forest Town Hall); he earned this commission in 1932 by winning an architectural competition that the municipality had proposed in 1929. After the next war broke out, being too old for active duty, he served in the Home Guard. He also served on the committee of the Royal Academy of Art that was planning for the post-blitz rebuilding of London. In 1944, he was appointed as one of the chief architects of the Imperial War Graves Commission. In this capacity, he designed several war memorials, including the Bayeux Memorial and the Dunkirk Memorial. He also designed many cemeteries for British war dead in France, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.