son of South African-born parents of English descent, Sergeant-Major Cecil William John "Jack" Pattle (b. 5 September 1884) and Edith Brailsford (1881–1962). Marmaduke was named after his paternal grandfather, Captain Thomas Marmaduke Pattle, who resigned his commission in the Royal Horse Artillery and emigrated to South Africa from England in 1875. Thomas became the first military magistrate of Butterworth. Jack Pattle followed his father into the British Army at the age of 15. He fought in the Second Boer War and the Natal Rebellion. Afterwards, he studied law and became a civilian attorney. Jack Pattle met Edith Brailsford in 1909. Brailsford was an English nurse who had lived in South Africa since the age of five. Jack Pattle and Edith Brailsford married in 1912. Within two years, two sons had been born, Cecil and Marmaduke. As a child, Marmaduke was academically gifted and also a keen boxer and long-distance swimmer. He also took a keen interest in mechanical things, particularly combustion engines, and was building Meccano models of aircraft and other vehicles by the age of 12. In his early teens, he became an avid amateur mechanic, fixing the family motor car and learning to drive. Marmaduke was never a hard worker and did not embark upon an academic career, but was considered to possess above average intelligence. In 1929, he passed the Junior Certificate Exam with first class honours. The certificate qualified him for Victoria Boy's High School from which he graduated in 1931. Although he had considered a career as a mining engineer, Pattle sent in an application to join the South African Air Force in 1932 and was employed in menial jobs while waiting for a response. For several months, he worked at a petrol station owned by an uncle. Military service On 22 March 1933 he was invited for an interview for a commission in the Air Force in Pretoria. One of 30 applicants vying for three places, he was rejected for lack of flying experience. Determined to rectify this weakness, he went to Johannesburg and began taking flying lessons. To fund his new ambition, he worked for a mining company, Sheba Gold Mine. He enjoyed the work so much he considered studying for a degree in mining engineering. His passion for flying subsided, but an impromptu visit by a transport aircraft gave Pattle a close glimpse of it, which rekindled his interest. At around the