He returned to the UK with his parents in 1913, but his father was killed in World War I, and Harding earned his living in a number of jobs from the ages of 16 to 25.

During this time, he became fascinated by Egyptian hieroglyphics and eventually joined the evening classes run by the distinguished Egyptologist Dr Margaret Murray.

Harding's archaeological talents quickly became apparent and with James Leslie Starkey and Olga Tufnell, he became one of a band of young archaeologists known as 'Petrie's pups'.

[2] While on the excavations, he quickly learned spoken Arabic from the local Bedouin and spoke their dialect throughout his life despite living in Amman and Lebanon in later years.

As they were found in his jurisdiction, he immediately set out to rescue as many of them as possible and to discover their archaeological context in order to preserve the important information they might yield.

The same year, Harding was asked by the British government to conduct the first major archaeological survey in the Aden Protectorate (southern Yemen).

He also helped to set up and organise the Aden Museum and to secure for it and catalog the famous Muncherjee collection of ancient South Arabian antiquities.