John Wallace Metcalfe was born on 16 May 1901 at Blackburn, Lancashire to Henry Harwood Metcalfe, a paper-bag maker, and his wife Lilian, née Wilcock. The family migrated to Australia, via New Zealand, settling in Sydney in 1911. Metcalfe attended Marrickville Superior Public School and Fort Street Boys High School he later attended the University of Sydney. Metcalfe married Thelma Constance Vagg on 3 March 1934 at St Matthew's Church of England, Manly.
