Walter George came to India in 1915 as part of Lutyens team of Architects to work on New Delhi along with Robert Tor Russell, Arthur Gordon Shoosmith, Henry Medd and John Greaves, primarily assigned to develop drawings and an amalgamated language of classical architecture with Indian elements. Through his partnership, George admired and grew immensely fond of Lutyens and the precision with which he followed pure Classical architecture. By around 1920, George started his own practice and often worked with Lutyens on private projects. Notable amongst his early works is the St Thomas’s church, where he, much like his fellow Shoosmith’s Martin Garrison church, adopted for an exposed red brick simple structure, additionally adding Delhi quartz as cobell. Both churches defined a new age architecture for the city, which George slowly mastered through his career. Other notable works include the Bhawalpur House, Patiala House, Kashmir House, Scindia House, St Stephens College and Chapel and Sujan Singh Park Apartments.
George was a member of the Delhi Improvement Trust, a part of the Sub Committee who designed expansions for the city as well as had design control in form of bye laws and suggested layouts. His involvement with the Trust probably made other members such as Sardar Sobha Singh and Lala Shri Ram choose him for their projects. After partition, he was also the housing advisor to the government of India and started an architecture school in Delhi informally. He has been the president of the Indian Institute of Architects twice and founded the Indian Institute of Town Planners.
Walter George refined the amalgamated architecture that Lutyens reluctantly formed to a language much appreciated in the later half of his life. Having an understanding of the Modern styles developing around the world, he’d often find a synthesis of those to the Indian context. Many of his projects hint towards Art Deco and Streamline Moderne apart from the language he refined. He received an OBE while in India and breathed his last in the city.
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References : Richard Butler, 'The Anglo Indian Architect Walter Sykes George' (Jstor); The Indian Architect, March 1959