Robin Hughes was born on 7 June 1920 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, to English parents, Rosa Violet (Pitt) and Harold William Hughes. His father was head of the British Royal Wheat Commission, and Hughes spent his childhood moving from country to country as his father was transferred in government service; consequently, his early schooling was acquired in South America, Canada, Mozambique, East Africa and other places. At the age of 18, he joined the Royal Navy as a signalman and at the end of the Second World War, he left the service as lieutenant commander.