Humble was born in Hartburn, County Durham, but moved to London in 1880 to work at the Royal Arsenal, in a somewhat unusual manner; he and his brother walked the 400-mile journey south from their home village to the capital, which made headlines in the local newspapers back home.

A staunchly left-wing man and a member of local socialist parties, he strongly believed in workers' rights and campaigned for shorter working hours and more time for leisure activities, which included football, a passion of his.

[1] Humble's biggest contribution to Arsenal was his successful drive to turn the club professional.

He continued to work at the Royal Arsenal as a gun inspector, and spent World War I seconded in Sheffield and then Norway.

He was the last original founding member to have a formal connection with Arsenal, and over time became the club's unofficial historian by virtue of being there longer than anyone else.