He came to England in 1917 and joined the Inns of Court Regiment and was soon offered a commission with the East Kents (the Buffs).
[5] He served as Senior Chaplain to the New Zealand forces when the Second World War broke out but was taken prisoner in 1941 and repatriated in 1943.
[7] By 1945 Gerard had renewed his acquaintance with Leslie Hunter, by then Bishop of Sheffield, with whom he had worked in Barking in the 1920s.
Gerard was appointed vicar and rural dean of Rotherham that year and, in 1947, Assistant Bishop of Sheffield.
[9] Gerard resigned the vicarage and deanery in 1960,[10] but remained Assistant Bishop until 30 September 1971[11] and was Chairman of the Church Assembly's House of Clergy, from 1965 to 1970.