From 1916-17, he served as Lieutenant in the Royal Regiment of Artillery of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France, and was awarded the MC.
Later he became Assistant District Officer, Kuala Kangsar; Director of Public Prosecutions, Federated Malay States;[4] Acting District Registrar and First Magistrate, Malacca,[5] and Deputy Legal Adviser Federated Malay States.
He was appointed District Judge, Straits Settlements in 1932, and Deputy Legal Adviser, Federated Malay States in 1934.
[8] In 1941, he was Legal Adviser, Civil Affairs, East Africa Command, and also acted as Chief Political Officer.
[1] In 1945, he returned to Malaya as Deputy Chief Civil Affairs Officer, Malay Peninsula, with rank of Brigadier and was mentioned twice in dispatches.