 Reginald Tate was born in Garforth , near Leeds in the West Riding of Yorkshire , and went to school in York . During World War I he served with the Northamptonshire Regiment and later with the Royal Flying Corps . He left the armed forces after the end of the war and studied acting at Leeds College of Music and Drama . He made his first professional acting appearance at Leeds Art Theatre in 1922 , and for the next four years was a resident performer both there and at the city 's Little Theatre . 
