Born in Hastings, Sussex, England on 13 April 1921, Peter Dyneley spent his early years in Canada but was educated at Radley College in Oxfordshire, England. He possessed dual nationality (Canadian and British) and served in the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War. After the war, he attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, where he studied opera and developed his bass voice. It was at this institution that he made the acquaintance of fellow student Christine May, whom he later married. They had two children, Richard and Amanda.