He served in World War I and was wounded twice, three times mentioned in dispatches and was awarded the Military Cross (MC) with a bar. After the war he served with the West African Frontier Force until 1924. He attended, from 1927 to 1928, the Staff College, Camberley, and later became a staff captain in China in 1931 and was made assistant adjutant and quartermaster general (AA&amp;QMG) for the 8th Division in Palestine, during the Arab revolt, in 1936.