One of five siblings, his father Henry Catchpole was the head of a building firm in Suffolk.
He studied in Ipswich School during his early years and played cricket for Suffolk County XI.
In the military he attained the rank of Captain and taught Urdu to British cadets and in the United Kingdom he interrogated Indian soldiers who had been captured by the German army but managed to escape.
[6] The All India Hugh Catchpole Memorial English Debate is an interschool debate competition in India started by Rashtriya Indian Military College (RIMC) in 2006 and is named after Hugh Catchpole.
Up to 20 reputed institutions from India participate in this event, and the winners over the years have been schools such as Wynberg Allen School in 2009,[8] La Martiniere (Lucknow) in 2013,[9] St. Joseph's Academy (Dehradun) in 2015[10] and RIMC in 2012 and 2016.