Arthur Annesley Ronald Firbank was born on January 17, 1886, in Clarges Street, Westminster, as the son of Sir Thomas Firbank, a Member of Parliament, and Lady Firbank, née Harriet Jane Garrett. He had three siblings: an older brother, Joseph Sydney (1884), a younger brother, Hubert Somerset (1887), and a sister, Heather (1888). Firbank attended Uppingham School from September 1900 to April 1901, followed by Trinity Hall in Cambridge. He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1907. He dropped out of Cambridge in 1909 without completing his studies. Arthur Annesley Ronald Firbank was born on January 17, 1886, in Clarges Street, Westminster, as the son of Sir Thomas Firbank, a Member of Parliament, and Lady Firbank, née Harriet Jane Garrett. He had three siblings: an older brother, Joseph Sydney (1884), a younger brother, Hubert Somerset (1887), and a sister, Heather (1888). Firbank attended Uppingham School from September 1900 to April 1901, followed by Trinity Hall in Cambridge. He converted to Roman Catholicism in 1907. He dropped out of Cambridge in 1909 without completing his studies.