[1] Ramsay enlisted with the Australian Imperial Force (AIF) on 1 October 1915, and was deployed to the Middle East with the 4th Field Artillery Brigade.

He ended his term with the AIF on 2 August 1919 as a lieutenant, having been awarded the Meritorious Service Medal the previous year.

This required the co-ordination of 360 guns across fifteen regiments, and the outstanding success of his plan caught the attention of the artillery commander of the Eighth Army.

[1][3] He was well thought of by the commander of the 9th Division, Lieutenant General Leslie Morshead, who nominated Ramsay as his successor in the event he was wounded.

[5] He went to command the division during the New Britain campaign, an operation intended to tie down Japanese troops then largely based at Rabaul.

[1] Returning to civilian life, Ramsay was appointed principal of Melbourne High School in 1946 and remained in the position until May 1948, at which time he was made Director of Education for Victoria.

Charged with re-organising the education system after years of funding neglect due to the war, Ramsay introduced a number of programmes directed towards teacher recruitment and training as well as improving the infrastructure of state schools.