Born in 1920 in South East London and unable to continue his schooling following the sudden death of his mother when he was 14, he went to live with his grandparents in East Coker, near Yeovil. His grandmother was a Christian and encouraged him to attend the local church. He started going to a boys’ Crusader Class and in 1938 he accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, under the preaching of Captain Reginald Wallis. During World War II he served in Yeovil in the bomb disposal unit of the Home Guard, being in a reserved occupation with Westland Aircraft.