He was educated at Guildford Grammar School in Perth and the Universities of Western Australia, Melbourne and London.
After several years as a schoolteacher, he joined the staff of the Department of International Relations at the Australian National University in 1962.
He was a professorial fellow in the department from 1968 onwards and head of the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre (SDSC) in 1966–1971 and 1982–1984.
In honour of his work in this field, the Graduate Studies in Strategy and Defence program (based in the SDSC) offers up to three T.B.
In 1995 a book of essays was published in his honour, edited by Coral Bell, entitled Nation, region and context: studies in peace and war.