 Nyora kupfuurira kweiyi ndima - Sandford aive mwanakomana wedangwe waAlbert Edmondson, 1st Baron Sandford, nemukadzi wake Edith Elizabeth née Freeman, uye hanzvadzi kuna Ralph, Arnold naPeter. Akadzidza paSt Cyprians School, Eton, neRoyal Naval College, Dartmouth uye gare gare akadzidziswa nokuda kweMirairo Tsvene paWestcott House, Cambridge. Akashanda muRoyal Navy muHondo Yenyika Yechipiri, kunyanya pakumhara muNorth Africa, Sicily neNormandy, uko akakuvadzwa. Nokuda kwezviito zvake muNormandy akapiwa Distinguished Service Cross. Pashure pehondo akakuvadzwa muCorfu Channel Incident muna 1946. Akanga ari pavashandi veRoyal Naval College muDartmouth kubva muna 1947 kusvika muna 1949, akashanda muna 1950 uye paHMS Cleopatra kubva muna 1951 kusvika muna 1952, aive pavashandi veMutungamiri Mukuru muFar East kubva muna 1953 kusvika muna 1955, uye aive mutungamiri weHome Fleet Flagship HMS Tyne muna 1956. Gore rapera Sandford akasiya basa kubva kuRoyal Navy aine chinzvimbo cheMukuru. Muna 1958 akagadzwa muChechi yeEngland uye akashanda seMufundisi weParish yeSt Nicholas muHarpenden kubva muna 1958 kusvika muna 1963 uye seMutungamiri Mukuru kuMufundisi weSt Albans kubva muna 1965 kusvika muna 1968. 