His parents were telegraph clerk Alexander Veitch Laught and his wife Johanne Christiane née Wittber.

[1] He was educated at Unley High School and Scotch College then the University of Adelaide, becoming a barrister and solicitor in 1928 and moving to the Mid North town of Clare where he met and married his wife, Josephine Faith (Jo) née Hackett.

He served in the Middle East but suffered from medical issues that saw him returned to Australia in 1943 and discharged on 1 January 1944.

He lived in Mount Gambier until 1959, then moved to Glenunga in Adelaide to make travel to Canberra easier.

[1] He held the seat until his death on the way from his hotel to Parliament House in 1969; Martin Cameron was appointed to fill the casual vacancy.