 Brought up in Brynamman, after passing his 11 Plus entrance examination he attended Amman Valley Grammar School where fellow pupils included Vernon Pugh and John Cale.Upon completing his school education, he tried to join the RAF as he had always wanted to be a pilot, but was turned down because he suffers from hay fever.He subsequently left Ammanford and went to Cardiff to train as a teacher at Cardiff Training College where he was the President of the Students’ Union in his final year.