 Buxton was educated at Eton and, after fighting in India during World War II (reaching the rank of Captain in the REME and receiving the MC), went up to Trinity College, Cambridge in 1945, taking an MA.Buxton came to national attention for a spectacular showing at the polls, prompting Sir Alex Douglas-Home to declare "The best epitaph on hundred days of socialist government...my friend the member for Leyton".The unconcealed joy was not to last; he was a Member of Parliament for a little over a year, after winning an unexpected by-election victory in 1965.