He was born 21st March 1912 in London, the fourth son of Sir William James Bull M.P. and Lillian Heather Brandon. Educated at Winchester College, he started in journalism before studying for the stage with Elsie Fogerty and made his stage debut at London's Shaftsbury Theatre in As You Like It on 15th June 1933. In 1941 he joined the navy as an ordinary seaman, eventually becoming a commander of a landing craft in the Mediterranean during which time he was promoted to Lt. Commander and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross. He left the service in 1948 and returned to acting both on stage and in films. In between times he used his journalism experience to write a number of books, including "To Sea in a Sieve" (1956) "Bulls in the Meadow" (1957), "I Know the Face But..." (1959), "Not on Your Telly" (1961), "I Say Look Here" (1965), and ran a small shop in Notting Hill Gate, in London.