Born at Catford in south-east London, he was the son of John Sunley, a florist and fruiterer, and was educated at St Ann's School in Hanwell in Ealing.
[1] After leaving school at the age of fourteen, he hired a horse and cart to move earth, and then went into the landscape gardening business.
[2] One of his first major contracts was re-laying the pitch at Highbury for Arsenal FC.
[5] Sunley campaigned as a Conservative Party candidate for Ealing West in 1945, but was unsuccessful.
His son, John Sunley (died 2011) was a property developer and philanthropist.