He served on the Western Front with the 48th Battalion, earning his promotion to captain in April 1917 and winning the Military Cross after being the last man to withdraw after an enemy attack near Zonnebeke in Belgium on 12 October.
However, it would not be until 21 September that he scored his first aerial victory, when he shot down an Airco DH.4 over Zonnebeke while on a morning patrol.