During World War I he enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in 1914 and was awarded the Military Cross and mentioned in dispatches.

Glasse was assigned back to New Zealand as the company's supervising engineer where he led the installation work of the new machinery.

[1] In the 1952 Queen's Birthday Honours, Glasse was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services in the field of engineering.

[6] Glasse supported mayor Dove-Myer Robinson's local government reforms to establish the Auckland Regional Authority.

He was also a member of the Auckland Metropolitan Drainage Board and the Harbour Bridge Authority, finally retiring from public office in 1976.