[1] He was posted initially to Malawi (then called Nyasaland) to the Blantyre mission, where he served at Mulanje from 1946 to 1947, and then continued his language learning at Zomba until 1948.
After this, he returned to Edinburgh, where he served in the Foreign Mission Offices of the Church of Scotland for two years (1950–52).
Subsequently, he returned to Northern Rhodesia, posted to Chitambo, where between 1952 and 1954 he was able to study regional cultures.
On 31 August 1957, he was seconded to St Colm's College in Edinburgh as a tutor, where he remained for over a decade.
He also served as secretary to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland's committee on Central Africa, which was convened by Lord MacLeod of Fuinary.