Alec Julian Tyndale-Biscoe was born at
North Petherton (
Bridgwater,
Somerset) the elder son (there being also two daughters) of Lt-Col Arthur Annesley Tyndale-Biscoe (1872–1969), of Aubrey House,
Keyhaven, near
Lymington, Hampshire, formerly of King's Mead, Upper
Bognor, West Sussex, and Emily Beatrice (1883–1976), daughter of (Edward) Alexander James Duff. A great-grandfather on his mother's side was Royal Navy
Captain George Duff (1764–1805), who fought at the
Battle of Trafalgar. The Tyndale family, tracing back to the mid-1600s, were originally of Bathford, Somerset, but by virtue of marriage with the heiress of the Biscoe family were subsequently of Holton Park, Oxfordshire, and entered the ranks of the landed gentry. The Biscoe surname was adopted in the nineteenth century by Lt-Col Arthur Tyndale-Biscoe's grandfather, as a condition of inheritance. He was educated at the
Royal Naval Colleges, Osborne and
Dartmouth, and he entered the
British Royal Navy in 1920. Specialising as a naval engineer, he served in the navy during and after the
Second World War, rising to the rank of captain in 1949 and ending his professional career as a "
rear admiral". ==Career==