Russell Vernon
Russell Vernon, who has died aged 92, was an architect who left his mark on Dulwich in south-east London; his most prominent postwar reconstruction project was the rebuilding of Sir John Soane's masterpiece, the Dulwich Picture Gallery.
The gallery had been badly damaged by a flying bomb in July 1944. Vernon and his uncle Austin (who ran the family's architectural firm) ensured that it was a faithful reconstruction, retaining as much of the original fabric as possible.
Austin had been on site the day after the bombing, collecting fragments, and measuring and photographing the damage. While he provided the scholarship, Russell Vernon undertook the working drawings, ran the building contract, and ensured that it was finished on time. It was reopened by the Queen Mother in 1953.
Vernon designed and built 27 structures and more than 3,000 houses in the Dulwich area. He was architect to the Dulwich College estate for 23 years, and during the early 1950s formulated its development plan. Over the years he won four awards from the Civic Trust and the Department of the Environment.
Russell Geoffrey Duddell Vernon was born in Norwich on November 12 1917, and educated at Alleyns in Dulwich, where he captained the cricket and football teams and excelled at fives. Despite being invited to join the family firm by his uncle, Russell volunteered for the Territorial Artist Rifles.
Serving with the Royal Engineers, in 1944 he was in Normandy commanding 508 Field Park Squadron in the Guards Armoured Division of the Second Army. The squadron carried heavy gear for crossing tank obstacles and rivers.
Vernon's most harrowing wartime experience was when the division reached Belsen, where his unit was required to clear the camp and its piles of corpses. This was accomplished by digging a trench into which the bodies were bulldozed. Rather than ordering someone else to drive the bulldozer, Vernon decided to drive it himself. He was appointed MBE.
Later Vernon was in Hamburg, blowing up unexploded bombs in the devastated city. He was demobbed in early 1946 in the rank of major.
Back in civvy street Vernon became the third generation of architects to join the family firm, becoming a partner in 1948 on the formation of Austin Vernon and Partners. In 1959, on his uncle's retirement, he became senior partner. During his tenure the old-fashioned office was transformed into a strong, modern, professional and highly successful firm noted for its residential work; he was always concerned that people should live in an amenable environment.
While Dulwich was his passion, Vernon and his firm also undertook work throughout England and, during the 1970s, in the Middle East and Canada. In London it designed and built the headquarters of Otis Elevators in Kennington; a church and training centre for the Church Army in Blackheath; and the Lufthansa office in Piccadilly.
AV&P also undertook social housing projects for the GLC, Peabody Trust, Southwark Council and the Quadrant housing trust.
Outside London it built houses for the Duke of Westminster on his Chester estate. Housing schemes were completed in Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge, Bognor, Reigate and for the Crown Commissioners in Windsor. It also undertook development plans for Thame in Oxfordshire, Ingol Preston in Lancashire and Hadleigh in Essex.
To the end of his professional life he was architect/surveyor to All Saints church, West Dulwich, and he continued regularly to inspect the roof until he was well into his eighties. The fire which nearly destroyed the church in September 2000 was a major blow to him, although it was quickly rebuilt. He worshipped there for nearly 80 years, and his funeral took place there.
For many years Vernon worked for charities including the Abbeyfield Society, British Home Society and the Shaftesbury Society. He was also a patron of the Dulwich Picture Gallery.
Russell Vernon died on July 3. He married, in 1940, Ruth Creaton, who predeceased him. He is survived by two sons and a daughter.
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