Serving in France, he won the Military Cross[2] and was severely wounded.
Yeatman then worked as a journalist before becoming advertising manager for Kodak Ltd.[1] When asked to convert his BA from Oxford into an MA, Yeatman could not find the fee owing to debt, and hence he is recorded in 1066 and All That as "Failed M.A., etc.
[3] With ambitions to be a writer, Yeatman contributed humorous pieces to Punch from 1926,[1] with 1066 and All That published in 1930,[4] which was an immediate success.
Three further joint ventures with Sellar followed: And Now All This (1932), Horse Nonsense (1933), and Garden Rubbish (1936), all selling well but without the popular success of 1066.
[1] Yeatman rejoined the army in 1940, serving as a captain in the Royal Artillery, then working for the Ministry of Information from 1943 until 1949.