ABSTRACT
The main elements of Holford’s life can be briefly summarized. His early years were spent in South Africa and we know sufficient of his family and school background to give us clues to the shaping of his personality. Placed in an architect’s office in Johannesburg he came across the prospectus of the Liverpool School of Architecture and it was for a training there that he set sail for England in 1925. At Liverpool he fell under the influence of C.H.Reilly, Head of the School, and absorbed a Beaux Arts philosophy of design. He prospered academically and his experience widened with visits to Italy and America. His great friendship with Gordon Stephenson, a fellow student, dates from this time, but the award of a Rome Scholarship in 1930 marked a pivotal point for his future.
