 His father then attempted to sue the Parkes family for "the custody, control and society" of his wife and family in an unusual and high-profile court case, which he lost.Following this embarrassment, Gertrude left Birmingham to live in a series of boarding houses and spa hotels.He and his younger brother, the writer Vivian Beynon Harris, spent the rest of their childhood at a number of English preparatory and public schools, including Blundell's School in Tiverton, Devon, during World War I.