Alfred Frank Hardiman (1891-1949)

Sculptor, born in London, the son of a, silversmith. Hardiman won a London County Council Scholarship to the Royal College of Art in 1912, and four years later transferred to the Royal Academy Schools. After a period as an engineering draughtsman in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I, Hardiman was elected a member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors in 1918. He resumed his studies and in 1920 was awarded the Prix de Rome, spending two years at the British School at Rome. Hardiman’s best-known public commission is the controversial Earl Haig Memorial situated in Whitehall, London. It caused outrage in some circles as Hardiman did not depict Haigh’s likeness as his widow Lady Haigh had expected. It was not completed until 1937.More widely admired are his heraldic lions flanking the main entrance to the City Hall, Norwich, a work which more fully represents his style. Hardiman also carved three large stone f