At the outbreak of war in September 1939 he volunteered for service with the Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC) as a surgical specialist. In 1940 he treated casualties from the Dunkirk evacuation and was then posted to Egypt with No 58 General Hospital RAMC. Here he treated casualties from most of the major battles fought by the 8th Army in the North African campaign and in the invasions of Sicily and Italy. Early in 1944 he was posted to the Anzio beachhead with No 15 Casualty Clearing Station and for his services there he was awarded Membership of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).