He enlisted in the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) in 1941, and during the war served on airbases in North-West Australia (including Corunna Downs Airfield) as a wireless operator.
[1] Old entered parliament at the 1974 state election, replacing Sir Crawford Nalder (a former Country Party leader) in the seat of Katanning.
Old became Minister for Agriculture in the new ministry, but was not appointed deputy premier (the traditional position for the leader of the minority party in the coalition) due to Charles Court's belief that he was too inexperienced.
[1] Despite Old gaining experience as a minister, he still was not appointed Deputy Premier when the position fell vacant in 1980 and 1982 whilst the Coalition had remained in office.
Constable had lost a Liberal preselection contest for the 1991 Floreat by-election amid allegations of branch stacking, but subsequently won the seat as an independent.