Kenneth Sandford was born Kenneth Parkin in Godalming, Surrey and raised in Sheffield, where his father became landlord of a pub. Sandford hoped to be an artist, studying painting at the College of Arts and Crafts in Sheffield, where he won a scholarship to the Royal College of Art in London. After he returned from service in the Royal Air Force during World War II, he attended that college, but he took up singing and became intrigued by the theatre. He began to perform in musicals, concerts and oratorios and switched to opera school. At this time he adopted his mother's maiden name as his professional surname, believing that Parkin "hardly rang with theatrical overtones."