Ben was a Cockney. He was born in December 1942 (PROSE: Invasion of the Cat-People, AUDIO: The Forsaken) and grew up opposite a brewery. (TV: The Power of the Daleks) He mentioned he once had a headmaster who "got nicked for not paying his bus fare." (TV: The War Machines) In 1956, at the age of fourteen, he sneaked onto his father's ship. When he was found out, the captain promised him a job when he was fifteen (which was four months away). (PROSE: Invasion of the Cat-People) His father died of a heart attack. (AUDIO: The Yes Men)