He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to English parents, and returned with them to London, where he was baptised in 1866.

[3] He became a popular "descriptive and character vocalist" in music halls, performing songs and monologues, many of which he wrote.

[4] He toured around the country, and at each venue raised money for local veterans by selling copies of his popular songs, such as "Boys of the Chelsea School", "Forgotten", "The Best of Friends Must Part", and "All Hands on Deck", raising that way over £5,000 in total.

[3][5] He was an active member and supporter of the Legion of Frontiersmen,[6] and started a fund for veterans of the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny, raising some £3,600, for which he was thanked by King Edward VII.

As an actor, he appeared in films including It's Never Too Late to Mend (1917); The Man Who Made Good (1917), for which he wrote the script; and Land of My Fathers (1921), directed by Fred Rains, which Leyton produced.