He was educated at Rossall School and Oriel College, Oxford, where he studied Modern History, and was called to the bar by the Inner Temple in 1906, practising on the Northern Circuit.
He was wounded at the Battle of the Somme in 1916, and, in 1917, was attached to the Ministry of National Service as a staff officer.
[3] In October 1918 he resigned his commission on account of ill-health caused by his wounds.
[5][6] In 1931 he was moved to be Assistant Commissioner "C" (Crime),[7] holding the post until his retirement on 1 March 1945.
[8] He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1927 Birthday Honours[9] and knighted in 1937.