Brought up in Chelmsford, Essex, he attended Bishop's Stortford College until 1931, and then worked for a while as a farm labourer in Scotland before joining the School of Rural Economy at Oxford in 1938.
Brought up in Chelmsford, Essex, he attended Bishop's Stortford College until 1931, where he was an excellent student. He then worked for a while as a farm labourer in Scotland before joining the School of Rural Economy at Oxford University in 1938.