[1] On 22 October 1939 he commissioned into the 6th Battalion, Black Watch and went to France as part of the British Expeditionary Force.

On 16 November 1942 he was awarded the Military Cross for his part in Operation Anglo; he received a Bar in September 1943.

[3] From 1943 to 1945 he was commanding officer of S Detachment of the Special Boat Squadron operating in Palestine and the Greek islands.

[5] He worked for MI5 throughout the period, in which he was appointed to advise on the security of the Kariba dam and oil installations in the Gulf before he was made head of station in Pakistan.

In June 1974 he was invested as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire and retired as a colonel in 1977.