Tuhia he haere tonu mo tenei pene - I whanau a Tarmey i Ardwick, Manchester, Lancashire. I muri tata mai i tona whanautanga, ka neke ia me tona whanau ki te noho ki Bradford, Manchester, i reira hoki ia i whakaakona ai. Whai muri i te matenga o tona papa a William i te 1944 i a ia e taraiwa ana i te waka hauora i te Pakanga o Arnhem
I te wā o te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao, ka marena anō tōna whaea, a Lilian, ki a Robert Cleworth. I haere a Tarmey ki te Kura Whakamaharatanga o Bradford me te Kura o Queens Street (i riro nei hei Kura Tuarua o Philips Park). I te mutunga o tana kura, ka whakaako ia ki tana papa, he kaiwhakatikatika asphalt i te mahi. I mahi hoki ia i roto i te ahumahi hanga mo etahi tau.