Early Life
Sykes was born in Oldham, Lancashire; his mother died three weeks after his birth. He was the second child of his parents' marriage; his older brother (by two years) was named Vernon. Sykes's father was a labourer in a cotton mill and a former army sergeant. When he was two, his father remarried and he gained a half-brother named John. Sykes was educated at Ward Street Central School in Oldham. He joined the Royal Air Force during World War II, qualifying as a wireless operator with the rank of Leading Aircraftman.
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Famous quotes related to early life:
“... goodness is of a modest nature, easily discouraged, and when much elbowed in early life by unabashed vices, is apt to retire into extreme privacy, so that it is more easily believed in by those who construct a selfish old gentleman theoretically, than by those who form the narrower judgments based on his personal acquaintance.”
—George Eliot [Mary Ann (or Marian)