He joined the RAF in April 1935, and was posted to No 17 Squadron, and later in 1936 to No. 54 Squadron RAF before attending the RAF School of Aeronautical Engineering at Henlow.
During the Second World War Henlow was used to assemble the Hawker Hurricanes which had been built at the Hurricane factory operated by Canadian Car and Foundry in Fort William, Ontario, Canada, under the leadership of Elsie MacGill.