In 1939 he enlisted in the Territorial Army, part of the British Army, in the 4th Battalion, Green Howards. At the outbreak of World War II he was mobilised and transferred to the 6th Battalion, Green Howards and went to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force in 1940, where he served as the commanding officer's despatch rider. He was promoted from Lance corporal to Sergeant during the evacuation from Dunkirk. He then fought from El Alamein to Tunis as part of the British Eighth Army in the North African Campaign. He was promoted to Company sergeant major shortly before the invasion of Sicily in 1943, where he was wounded at the battle of Primosole Bridge.