 His father, Louis Saurin Richards, was a solicitor, and his mother, Lucy Denes ("née" Clarence), was born in Ceylon, now Sri Lanka.Educated at Gresham's School, Holt, and Cambridge University, he trained as an architect at the Architectural Association.He worked at J. Lyons & Co., assisting Oliver Percy Bernard, before being sent to work as an architectural assistant for the engineer, Owen Williams.