 Born in Hammersmith , West London , Hollamby served in the Royal Marines during the Second World War before embarking on a career in architecture . Involved with the Communist Party of Great Britain and other leftist groups , his socialist beliefs led him to work in the public sector , first for the Miners ' Welfare Commission and then for London County Council ( LCC ) , where he was involved in the design and construction of such modernist post @-@ war housing estates as Bethnal Green 's Avebury Estate , Kennington 's Brandon Estate , and Deptford 's Pepys Estate . 
