The son of a coal miner, he initially worked in the mines himself before studying piano and voice at the Royal Academy of Music.
His studies were interrupted by World War II when he served in the Royal Navy.
After the war in Europe ended, he was engaged by Sadlers Wells where on 7 June 1945 he made his operatic debut as Balstrode in the world premiere of Benjamin Britten's Peter Grimes.
He joined the Welsh National Opera in 1951 and remained with the company for the rest of his career.
Amongst his notable performances there were Montfort in I vespri siciliani and the title role in Nabucco.