Editing Michael Hordern (section)

===Early life and education===
[[File:The Poplars Berkhamsted.jpg|thumb|The Poplars, Hordern's birthplace in [[Berkhamsted]], Hertfordshire]]

Hordern was born 3 October 1911 at [[Berkhamsted]], Hertfordshire, third son of Edward Joseph Calveley Hordern, of a family of Hampshire landed gentry with a strong clerical tradition, and Margaret Emily, daughter of mechanical engineer Edward Francis Murray.<ref name=dnb>Morley, Sheridan. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/58193 "Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, May 2009, accessed 22 July 2015 {{subscription required}}</ref><ref>Burke's Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Landed Gentry, 17th edition, ed. L. G. Pine, Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1952, p. 1282</ref>

Edward Hordern's father, Rev. Joseph Calveley Hordern, was the rector at the [[Holy Trinity Church, Bury|Holy Trinity Church]] in [[Bury, Greater Manchester|Bury]]. As a young man Edward joined the [[Royal Indian Navy|Royal Indian Marines]] and gained the rank of lieutenant. During a short break on home-leave he fell in love with Margaret, after they were introduced by one of his brothers. The courtship was brief and the young couple married in [[Burma]] on 28 November 1903.<ref>Hordern, pp. 2–3.</ref> They had their first child, a son, Geoffrey, in 1905, followed by another, [[Peter Hordern (rugby union)|Peter]], in 1907.<ref>Hordern, pp. 3–4.</ref>{{#tag:ref|Peter "Shrimp" Hordern (1907–1987)<ref name="HORDERN105"/> was a keen sportsman and excelled at Rugby. After he left school he went to Oxford where he won a [[Blue (university sport)|blue]], and later played rugby for England.<ref name="HORDERN12">Hordern, p. 12.</ref>|group= n}}

Margaret was descended from [[James Murray (physician)|James Murray]], an Irish physician whose research into digestion led to his discovery of the stomach aid [[milk of magnesia]] in 1829.<ref>Hines-Davenport, Richard. [http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/19622, "Murray, Sir James (1788–1871)"], ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online edition, January 2016, accessed 27 January 2016 {{subscription required}}</ref>{{#tag:ref|After brief employment working for [[Isambard Kingdom Brunel]], Murray studied in [[Pharmaceutical industry|pharmaceuticals]].<ref>Hordern, pp. 1–2.</ref> Murray used a fluid magnesia preparation of his own design to treat the [[Lord Lieutenant of Ireland|Lord Lieutenant of Ireland's]] stomach pain. It was so effective that it was approved by the Royal College of Surgeons in 1838.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1301&dat=18461007&id=ERkRAAAAIBAJ&sjid=m5QDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6490,1153513 "Sir James Murray's condensed solution of fluid magnesia"], ''The Sydney Morning Herald'', 7 October 1846, accessed 5 July 2015.</ref>|group= n}} The invention earned him a [[knight bachelor|knighthood]] and brought the family great wealth. Margaret grew up in England, and attended [[St Audries Park|St Audries School for Girls]] in Somerset.<ref>Hordern, p. 2.</ref>{{#tag:ref|Margaret Emily Murray was born in County Wicklow. She died in 1933. Hordern gave her cause of death as "exhaustion".<ref name="HORDERN35">Hordern, p. 35.</ref>|group= n}}

Four years after the birth of Peter, a pregnant Margaret returned to England, where Michael Hordern, her third son, was born. Still stationed abroad, Edward was promoted to the rank of [[Captain (Royal Navy)|captain]], for which he received a good salary. The family lived in comfort, and Margaret employed a [[scullery maid]], nanny, groundsman, and full-time cook.<ref name="HORDERN4">Hordern, p. 4.</ref>
Margaret left for India to visit her husband in 1916. The trip, although planned only as a short term stay, lasted two years because of the ferocity of the First World War. In her absence, Hordern was sent to [[Windlesham House School]] in Sussex at the age of five. His young age exempted him from full-time studies but he was allowed to partake in extracurricular activities, including swimming, football, rugby and fishing.<ref name="HORDERN6">Hordern, p. 6.</ref> After a few years, and along with a fellow enthusiast, he set up the "A Acting Association" (AAA),<!--THIS IS NOT SUPPOSED TO BE "AN ACTING ASSOCIATION"--> a small theatrical committee, which organised productions on behalf of the school. As well as the organisation of plays, Hordern arranged a regular group of players, himself included, to perform various plays which they wrote, directed, and choreographed themselves.<ref>Hordern, p. 8.</ref> He stayed at Windlesham House for nine years,<ref name="HORDERN4" /> later describing his time there as "enormous fun".<ref name="HORDERN6" />

Hordern was 14 when he left Windlesham House to continue his schooling as a member of Chichester House at [[Brighton College]].<ref name="HORDERN12" /><ref name="TELEOBIT">[https://web.archive.org/web/20121114123152/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/culture-obituaries/tv-radio-obituaries/7589085/Sir-Michael-Hordern.html Sir Michael Hordern]. ''[[The Daily Telegraph]]'', 4 May 1995, accessed 28 June 2015.</ref> By the time of his enrolment, his interest in acting had matured. In his 1993 autobiography, ''A World Elsewhere'', he admitted: "I didn't excel in any area apart from singing; I couldn't read music but I sang quite well."<ref name="HORDERN12" /> There he helped organise amateur performances of various [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] operas. The first of these was ''[[The Gondoliers]]'', in which he played the role of the Duchess. The tutors called his performance a great success, and he was given a position within the men's chorus in the next piece, ''[[Iolanthe]]''.<ref>Hordern, pp. 12–13.</ref> Over the next few years, he took part in ''[[The Mikado]]'' as a member of the chorus, and then appeared as the Major-General in ''[[The Pirates of Penzance]]''. It was a period which he later acknowledged as being the start of his career.<ref name="Hordern, p. 13">Hordern, p. 13.</ref> When the war ended in 1918, Edward, who was by now a port officer in [[Calcutta]], arranged for Margaret to return to England. With her, she brought home an orphaned baby girl named Jocelyn, whom she adopted.<ref name="HORDERN9">Hordern, p. 9.</ref>{{#tag:ref|Jocelyn was the last one of triplet sisters to be born. She was the only child to survive the birth, which also claimed the life of her mother. Jocelyn was spurned by her only living relative, an English aunt, because of the child's illegitimacy.<ref name="HORDERN10">Hordern, p. 10.</ref>|group= n}} The following year, Edward retired from active service and returned to England, where he relocated his family to [[Haywards Heath]] in Sussex. There, Michael developed a love for fishing, a hobby about which he remained passionate for the rest of his life.<ref>Hordern, p. 11.</ref>

In his autobiography Hordern admitted that his family showed no interest in the theatre and that he had not seen his first professional play, ''[[Ever Green]]'', until he was 19.<ref name="Hordern, p. 13"/> Around this time he met [[Christopher Hassall]], a fellow student at Brighton College. Hassall, who also went on to have a successful stage career, was, as Hordern noted, instrumental in his decision to become an actor.<ref>Hordern, p. 15.</ref> In 1925 Hordern moved to [[Dartmoor]] with his family where they converted a disused barn into a farm house. For Hordern the move was ideal; his love of fishing had become stronger and he was able to explore the remote landscape and its isolated rivers.<ref>Hordern, p. 20.</ref>