[1] On leaving school, Comber worked briefly for the seed company of Sutton & Son at Reading before beginning an apprenticeship at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in 1951.
National Service interrupted his training, but his posting to Singapore was to inspire his 35-year career in South East Asia and interest in its flora.
[2] During this time, Comber formed a close and philanthropic association with the native population, taking much interest in their culture and learning local languages.
However, much of this period coincided with the Indonesia–Malaysia confrontation over the sovereignty of the region, and Comber's activities were to arouse the suspicions of the authorities as many of his workforce had come from Indonesia.
Comber eventually moved in 1971 to the post of agronomist with Ciba-Geigy near Medan in Sumatra, and later Thailand, during which time he was able to further his knowledge of the hundreds of orchid species.