When James William Lovegrove was born on September 29, 1922, in Hong Kong, China, his father, Clifton, was 27 and his mother, Marjorie, was 23. He married Jean Margaret Connell on April 23, 1954, in London, London. They had four children in 10 years. He died on March 18, 1997, in Winchester, Hampshire, at the age of 74, and was buried there.