Berger was born on 5 November 1926[REF] in Stoke Newington, London,[REF][REF] the first of two children of Miriam and Stanley Berger [REF].
His grandfather was from Trieste,[REF] and his father had been an infantry officer on the Western Front during the First World War and was awarded the Military Cross[REF][REF] and an OBE [REF].