Editing Ronnie Barker (section)

==Early life==
[[File:RonnieBarkerPlaque.JPG|thumb|right|Plaque marking Barker's birthplace]]
Barker was born on 25 September 1929 at 70 Garfield Street, [[Bedford]], the only son of Leonard William Barker (always known as "Tim")<ref name="Remembering Ronnie Barker 2010, p. 10">Remembering Ronnie Barker, Richard Webber, Arrow Books, 2010, p. 10</ref><ref>Ronnie Barker: The Authorized Biography, Bob McCabe, BBC Books, 2004, p. 11</ref> and Edith Eleanor (née Carter; known as "Sis", by virtue of being the youngest sister amongst her siblings).<ref name="Remembering Ronnie Barker 2010, p. 10"/><ref>Ronnie Barker: The Authorized Biography, Bob McCabe, BBC Books, 2004, p. 12</ref><ref>Oxford Dictionary of National Biography entry URL= http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-95460 Date accessed= 22 October 2018</ref><ref name=C35>{{harvnb|Corbett|Nobbs|2007|p=35}}</ref><ref name=timesobit>{{cite news|url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article574647.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100525055249/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/obituaries/article574647.ece|archive-date=25 May 2010|title=Ronnie Barker|date=5 October 2005|work=[[The Times]]|access-date=13 April 2010|location=London}}</ref><ref name=M11/>

Barker's elder sister Vera was born in 1926 and his younger sister Eileen was born in 1933.<ref name=C35/><ref name=M11>{{harvnb|McCabe|2005|pp=11–12}}</ref> His father was a clerk for [[Shell Oil|Shell-Mex]], and this job saw the family move to [[Church Cowley Road]] in [[Cowley, Oxfordshire]], when Barker was four.<ref name=M11/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-19756786|title=Ronnie Barker: Oxford childhood home plaque unveiled|publisher=[[BBC]]|work=[[BBC News]]|location=UK|access-date=29 September 2012|date=28 September 2012}}</ref><ref name=indobit>{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ronnie-barker-509590.html|title=Ronnie Barker|work=[[The Independent]]|date=5 October 2005|author=Anthony Hayward|location=London, UK|access-date=8 February 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100905144342/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/obituaries/ronnie-barker-509590.html|archive-date=5 September 2010}}</ref>

Barker's biographer Bob McCabe described Barker's childhood as "a happy time, marred by no ructions or family tensions, apart from the occasional wet sock."<ref>{{harvnb|McCabe|2005|p=14}}</ref> As a child, Barker enjoyed dressing up, particularly in his father's [[pierrot]] outfit, as well as films, comics and animals.<ref name=C35/><ref>{{harvnb|McCabe|2005|pp=11–14}}</ref> He developed a love of the theatre, often attending plays with his family. The first play he saw was ''[[Cottage to Let]]'' and he once skipped school to see [[Laurence Olivier]] in ''[[Henry V (play)|Henry V]]''.<ref name=C36/> He frequently stood outside stage doors to collect autographs, his first being the actress [[Celia Johnson]].<ref name=C36>{{harvnb|Corbett|Nobbs|2007|pp=36–37}}</ref>

Barker grew up in the [[Florence Park, Oxford|Florence Park]] area of Oxford, and went to Donnington Junior School, and then the [[City of Oxford High School for Boys]].<ref>[http://oxonblueplaques.org.uk/plaques/barker.html Ronnie Barker: Oxfordshire Blue Plaques Scheme]</ref> His chemistry textbook at Oxford had previously been used by [[T. E. Lawrence]].<ref name=telegraphobit>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1499900/Ronnie-Barker.html|title=Ronnie Barker|work=[[The Daily Telegraph (UK)|The Daily Telegraph]]|date=5 October 2005|access-date=4 April 2011}}</ref> He found his talent for humour at school and developed his musical ability by singing in the choir at St James's, his local church.<ref name=C36/><ref name=guardobit/> He got into the sixth form a year early after gaining the [[School Certificate (UK)|School Certificate]]<ref>{{harvnb|McCabe|2005|p=18}}</ref> but he felt what he was learning would be of no use to him in later life and so left as soon as he could.<ref name=C36/>

After leaving school, he trained as an architect; however, feeling he was not skilled enough, he quit after six months. Barker took his sister Vera's job as a bank clerk at the [[Westminster Bank]] after she had left to become a nurse.<ref name=timesobit/><ref name=C38>{{harvnb|Corbett|Nobbs|2007|p=38}}</ref> He harboured dreams of becoming an actor, and took up amateur dramatics, although initially he just saw the pastime as a chance to meet girls.<ref name=M11/>

For 18 months, while at the bank, he worked as an actor and stage manager, making his first appearance in ''A Murder Has Been Arranged'' as the musical director of the play-within-a-play.<ref name=C38/> Eventually he gave up his job to become a professional actor.<ref name=indobit/> His father did not support his acting ambition.<ref name=guardobit>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/oct/04/broadcasting.guardianobituaries|title=Ronnie Barker|access-date=13 April 2010|date=4 October 2005|author=Dennis Barker|work=The Guardian|location=London, UK}}</ref>