Coventry was a Lieutenant in the 7th Battalion, Worcestershire Regiment, which was part of the original Expeditionary Force sent to France in September 1939. His regiment was subsequently evacuated during the retreat from Dunkirk; Coventry was killed in action on 27 May 1940 at La Bassée, during the Battle of Dunkirk which preceded it. He is buried in the communal cemetery at Givenchy-lès-la-Bassée.