He served in the Second World War as a lieutenant-commander in the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve.

[2] He sat as Member of Parliament (MP) for Chichester from 1942 to 1958[3] and served under Winston Churchill as Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Fuel and Power from 1951 to 1955.

As a peer he was disqualified from sitting in the House of Commons, and a by-election was triggered.

[2] Lord Brentford was also Chairman of the Automobile Association and served as a member of the House of Laity in the National Assembly of the Church of England.

[2] He died in the Lewes District of East Sussex on 20 February 1983, aged 80, and was succeeded in his titles by his only child Crispin.