Ramsay worked as a boat builder. On 25 May 1915, nine months after the outbreak of the First World War, he enlisted in the 63rd (Royal Naval) Division. Rising to the rank of able seaman, he saw action at Gallipoli and on the Western Front. Ramsay was killed near Arras, France on 29 April 1917 and is commemorated on the Arras Memorial. His younger brother Alexander was killed in November 1916.