He was born in Lincoln into a comfortably established middle-class family of Tory views.
He married Iris Beynon, a nurse while he was training at St Bartholomew's Hospital.
This led to the foundation of the Socialist Medical Association in 1930 and he became its secretary, serving until 1938.
[2] He is credited with being the main architect of the Spanish Medical Aid Committee.
He lived at Mottingdeane, High Road, Mottingham, London, SE9.