He tried many careers, working as a clerk, blacksmith, steam-hammer driver, optician and trainee chemist before studying theology.
He enlisted in the Australian Imperial Force on 7 August 1915; on 21 November of that year he married Amy Edith Norman at Albany.
He served on the Western Front with the 48th Battalion, earning his promotion to captain in April 1917 and winning the Military Cross after being the last man to withdraw after an enemy attack near Zonnebeke in Belgium on 12 October.
In 1929 he was appointed executive secretary of the Western Australian Employers Federation, a position he held until 1949.
After almost ten years running a motor company at Bunbury he was hired to direct the Western Australian Trade Bureau.