He is perhaps best known for the prosecution of William Joyce ("Lord Haw-Haw") in 1945, and as the presiding judge in the case of R v Penguin Books Ltd. in 1960, the prosecution of Penguin Books under the Obscene Publications Act 1959 for the publication of D. H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover.
He served as a lieutenant in the Queen's Royal West Surrey Regiment in the First World War.
He was called to the bar at Middle Temple in 1918 and quickly became known for his skill as an advocate in criminal cases.
With Attorney General Sir Hartley Shawcross and Gerald Howard, he was one of three barrister for the prosecution in the trial of William Joyce (Lord Haw-Haw) in 1945.
He retired in 1960 and lived in Enniskerry in Ireland before moving to Essex in 1964, where he died at Gosfield Hall.