Born on 8 August 1881 at Lockfield near Darvel, Ayrshire, the son of a farmer, he was educated first at the village school and later at Kilmarnock Academy. At the age of 13 he was sent to live with his brother in London and continued his education at the Polytechnic Institute in Upper Regent Street

Born 25 March 1866, third child and second son of Arthur Edward Durham, consulting surgeon to Guy's Hospital, and his wife Mary, daughter of William Ellis (see *DNB*), economist and founder of the Birkbeck secondary technical schools. He was thus born into a remarkable family. The only brother who,