[citation needed] At the same time Somerville also joined Peace Pledge Union and War Resisters' International as he was increasingly leaning towards strong pacifist views.
So in 1942, aged 27, he left Sydney and went to North Queensland hoping to avoid embarrassment for his family should he be arrested and possibly imprisoned.
In June 1943 he attended a pacifist weekend at Point Clare near Gosford where he met a 21-year-old trainee nurse from Bemboka on the far south coast of NSW.
[5] Somerville particularly loved visiting wilderness places such as the snow-capped mountains of the Andes, the European Alps and the Rockies.
Following retirement Somerville moved to Wimbledon Ave Narrabeen where he loved all aspects of living by the lagoon – sitting beside it, walking around it and kayaking on it.
One of Somerville's last hard-fought campaigns was establishing an 8.4 km path around Narrabeen Lagoon despite opposition from Cromer Golf Club and The Academy of Sport.
After a long, hard campaign by the Colong Committee, the Labor government led by Neville Wran agreed to save the forest.
However, when the same government decided to log Grady's Creek Flora Reserve two years later, Somerville shifted his attention to saving it as well.