He was educated at Wanstead High School, winning an Open Scholarship to St John's College, Oxford in 1940.
In 1942 he was commissioned into the Royal Ulster Rifles, and served with the Irish Brigade in North Africa, Italy and Austria between 1943 and 1946.
He entered HM Diplomatic Service in 1947, with postings in Lebanon, Egypt, Gulf Shaikdoms (including the post of the first Political Officer resident in Doha, Qatar, August 1949 – July 1950), Yugoslavia and Roumania.
He was Director of the Middle East Centre for Arab Studies in Lebanon from 1960 to 1965, Deputy High Commissioner in Aden 1966–1967, Ambassador to Kuwait 1970–1974, Assistant Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office 1974–1976, and Ambassador to Saudi Arabia 1976–1979.
After he retired to Devon, he was President of the Plymouth branch of the English Speaking Union (from 1991) and a Trustee of the Arab-British Chamber Charitable Foundation (from 1989), churchwarden of St. Maurice's Church, Plympton, Devon and chairman of the charity Call South West.