[1][2] He served in World War I in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force departing 13 June 1918[3] and rising to the rank of Company Sergeant Major.
[6] In 1936 and 1937 he represented the abortion care provider Isabel Annie Aves, who was tried four times for 'using an instrument with the intent to procure a miscarriage.'
Neither the first trial in Napier in August 1936 nor the retrials in Wellington in October 1936,[7] December 1936 and February 1937 resulted in the jury reaching a verdict.
In 1938 he also defended Colin Herbert Hercock who shot Aves after her return to the Hawkes Bay, getting him convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter rather than murder[11] and subsequently getting his prison term reduced.
[13] His maiden speech to the house concerned the Small Farms Amendment Bill which dealt with the settlement and rehabilitation of returned soldiers.