[5][6] He was the son of the painter James Ulric Walmsley (1860–1954) who studied under Stanhope Forbes in Cornwall before settling in Robin Hood's Bay.

[7] During the First World War he served as an observer with the Royal Flying Corps in East Africa, was mentioned in dispatches four times and was awarded the Military Cross.

[8][9] After a plane crash he was sent home, and after some time teaching at the school in Robin Hood's Bay, eventually pursued a literary career.

[3] Following the end of the marriage he returned to live at Robin Hood's Bay then moved to Wales after the outbreak of World War II.

Following the end of his second marriage, he moved to the area of Fowey, Cornwall,[11] where he settled at Pont Pill near Polruan, where he became friendly with the writer Daphne du Maurier.