Beresford was born on 6 February 1920 in
Sutton Coldfield, then in
Warwickshire. He was the only child of Harry Bertram Beresford and Nora Elizabeth Beresford ( Jefferies). His father died in 1934, aged 46, and Maurice's mother continued to live with him until her death in 1966, aged 79. While there, he was enthused by two teachers, one a history master and the other from geography. He studied for the history
tripos under Bernard Manning and
Charles Wilson, and took a
First in part I. After doing so well, he was awarded a minor scholarship for the rest of his degree. As an undergraduate, Beresford wrote a paper on parkland in
Sutton Coldfield, the beginning of his interest in the interaction between the physical landscape and documents such as maps: this interest led to his 1957 publication,
History on the Ground. In September 1939, with the start of the
Second World War, Beresford registered as a
conscientious objector. As a keen connoisseur of co-incidence he found it piquant that the chairman of the tribunal was
Sir John Clapham, the first Professor of Economics at the University of Leeds, and across the table sat its future first Professor of Economic History. He was exempted from military service in April 1940 on the condition that he continued his studies. After completing his degree, he undertook
social work in London and Birmingham. ==Academic career==