His career in the Colonial Service began in 1928, with his appointment as an Assistant District Commissioner in the Gold Coast (now Ghana). In 1934, he was promoted to Assistant Colonial Secretary. He was posted to the Mandate of Palestine in 1936, eventually becoming Principal Commissioner. He was one of the survivors of the King David Hotel bombing in Jerusalem on 22 July 1946. He was posted by the Foreign Office to Cyrenaica in 1948. He became Chief Secretary of British Guiana in 1950. From September 1955 to January 1961, he was Governor of the Solomon Islands and High Commissioner for the Western Pacific. In this role he oversaw not only the Solomon Islands but also the New Hebrides and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands. During his term, the Solomon Islands took their first steps towards self-government, with the establishment of the first Legislative Council.