 Simmons was born in West Ham, the fourth of five children – three boys and two girls – to parents of Polish extraction, Miriam (née Corb) and Joseph Simmons (originally Anzulowsky), from a family of market traders.He was named Isidore but adopted the forename Anthony in his teens.After attending West Ham Grammar School, Simmons gained a law degree from the London School of Economics, where his course was interrupted by wartime service.