Leonard Alfred Abbott FRIBA
Born Catford 20th April 1923
Died Purley, Surrey UK 11th July 2007
Had Len still been alive when one of his greatest architectural achievements was demolished, you would imagine that he would have been devastated. No doubt he would have been very upset but at the same time he understood the need for progress and to maximise working space in urban areas . Designing and building Southwark Towers, the head office for Price Waterhouse at London Bridge, was a important part of Len’s life during the 1970s and to a large extent, was the culmination of his architectural career. The building that replaced it was the Shard, Europe’s tallest building. Not a bad replacement.
These diaries start in April 1940 , a few months after the start of World War Two when Len was 16 years old. He was fortunate in a way as he knew he wanted to be an architect from a very young age. He didn’t waste any spare time during the 6 years of conflict – he used it to study. The diaries make constant reference to having curriculum books sent to him; buying architectural based books at ports of call; reading them; making notes and also detailed descriptions of the buildings he saw whilst travelling the globe. Len was a talented artist and many of his sketches have been included alongside the relevant diary entry. Not only do they add to the written descriptions but they also illustrate how his drawing skills improved over the years.
