Lance Secretan，Lance Hilary Kenyon Secretan, was born in Beaconsfield (Amersham), Buckinghamshire, UK. His father was Kenyon Secretan, a prominent scientist and engineer who headed the BBC's foreign monitoring service and was part of William Stephenson's network (A Man Called Intrepid) during WWII; and Marie-Therese (née Haffenden) Secretan, a concert pianist.