He was born in Kortrijk, Flanders, and fought in the Belgian Army at the start of World War I, with the 1st Regiment of Grenadiers. He was seriously wounded in the fighting for Tervaete during the Battle of the Yser in October 1914. On being discharged from the army in 1917, he moved to Britain, taking employment with the Tarrant Company, and then Martinsyde, before eventually becoming chief designer at Fairey Aviation.