Editing Alan Bates (section)

==Early life==
[[File:Alan Bates BP IMG 0282.jpg|thumb|right|The [[blue plaque]] on Alan Bates's childhood home—in association with the [[British Film Institute]].]]
Bates was born at the Queen Mary Nursing Home, [[Darley Abbey]], [[Derby]], England, on 17 February 1934, the eldest of three boys born to Florence Mary (née Wheatcroft), a housewife and a pianist, and Harold Arthur Bates, an insurance broker and a cellist.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.filmreference.com/film/5/Alan-Bates.html|title=Alan Bates Biography|work=filmreference.com|access-date=15 September 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070929111508/http://www.filmreference.com/film/5/Alan-Bates.html| archive-date= 29 September 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> They lived in [[Allestree]], Derby, at the time of Bates' birth, but briefly moved to [[Mickleover]] before returning to Allestree.

Both his parents were amateur musicians who encouraged Bates to pursue music. By the age of 11, having decided to become an actor, he studied drama instead.<ref name=ABAbio>{{cite web|author=Karen Rappaport|url=http://alanbates.com/abfeatures/bio.html|title=Alan Bates Biography|work=The Alan Bates Archive|access-date=11 April 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080420091452/http://alanbates.com/abfeatures/bio.html|archive-date=20 April 2008|url-status=dead}}</ref> He further developed his vocation by attending productions at Derby's Little Theatre.

Bates was educated at the Herbert Strutt Grammar School, Derby Road, [[Belper]], Derbyshire (now "Strutts", a volunteer led business and community centre) and later gained a scholarship to the [[Royal Academy of Dramatic Art]] in London, where he studied with [[Albert Finney]] and [[Peter O'Toole]], before leaving to join the [[RAF]] for [[Conscription in the United Kingdom|National Service]] at [[RAF Newton]].