Buckland was born in [[London]] on 31 August 1934,<ref name="Lewis 1999">{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=James R. Lewis|title=Witchcraft Today: An Encyclopedia of Wiccan and Neopagan Traditions|year=1999|publisher=ABC=CLIO|isbn=9781576071342|pages=xxix|url=https://booksarchive.google.comorg/details/books?idwitchcrafttodaye0000lewi|url-access=FSnxlwQV0ccC&pg=PR29&dqregistration|quote=Buckland+ was+ born+ in+ 1934&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DqemUJvWBqLJ0AXt3oDQBw&ved=0CDYQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=Buckland%20was%20born%20in%201934&f=false.}}</ref> to Eileen and Stanley Buckland. Buckland was of mixed ethnicity; his mother was [[English people|English]], but his father was [[Romani people|Romani]].<ref name="Camelot 2002">{{cite book|title=he Word: Welsh Witchcraft, the Grail of Immortality and the Sacred Keys|year=2002|publisher=Camelot Press|isbn=0595258085|pages=54|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=u7vH5Z5d9gYC&pg=PA54&dq=Buckland+was+born+in+1934&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DqemUJvWBqLJ0AXt3oDQBw&ved=0CDwQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=Buckland%20was%20born%20in%201934&f=false|author=Rhuddlwm Gawr|author2=Taliesin Enion Vawr }}</ref> He was raised in the [[Anglican Church]] but developed an interest in [[Spiritualism (religious movement)|Spiritualism]] and the [[occult]] at about age 12, after encountering it from a Spiritualist uncle.<ref name="Drury 2005">{{cite book|last=Drury|first=Nevill|title=The Watkins Dictionary of Magic|year=2005|publisher=Duncan Baird Publishers|isbn=1780283628|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FQ52Xjh1_hYC&pg=PT118&dq=Buckland+was+born+in+1934&hl=en&sa=X&ei=DqemUJvWBqLJ0AXt3oDQBw&ved=0CD8Q6AEwBQ}}</ref><ref name=Cyber>{{cite web|title=An Interview with Raymond Buckland|url=http://www.cyberwitchcraft.com/raymond-buckland.html|work=Cyber Witchcraft|publisher=CyberWytchLLC|accessdate=16 November 2012}}</ref>
When [[World War II]] broke out in 1939, the family moved to [[Nottingham]], where Buckland attended [[Nottingham High School]]. It was here that he became involved in amateur dramatic productions.<ref name="Knowles online">{{cite web|last=Knowles|first=George|title=Raymond Buckland (1934 - )|url=http://controverscial.com/Raymond%20Buckland.htm|work=Controverscial.Com|accessdate=16 November 2012|date=3 June 2007}}</ref>
