term at the Royal College, he was unexpectedly invited to play the piano for the Arts League of Service Travelling Theatre on a six-week tour of Yorkshire, since their usual pianist had been taken ill. He accepted this offer despite its meaning he missed his last term. This provided him with invaluable experience in playing and composing theatre music, that he never regretted and which stood him in good stead for his later dramatic work. In the mid-1920s Rubbra used to earn money playing for dancers from the Diaghilev Ballet. At around this time he became firm friends with Gerald Finzi. In 1941, Rubbra was called up for army service. After 18 months he was given an office post, again because of his knowledge of shorthand and typing. While he was there, he ran a small orchestra assisted by a double-bass player from the BBC orchestra. The War Office asked him to form a piano trio to play classical chamber music to the troops. Rubbra was happy to oblige, and the trio, with William Pleeth the cellist, Joshua Glazier violinist and himself on the piano took six months acquiring a repertoire of chamber music. "The Army Classical Music Group", was formed and later expanded to seven people. On one occasion an overzealous entertainment officer thought there would be a better audience by advertising with big posters for "Ed Rub & his seven piece Band". They travelled all over England and Scotland and then to Germany, with their own grand piano which, with its legs removed for transport, became a seat for them in the back of the transport lorry. After the war, on 4 August 1947 (the Feast of St Dominic), Rubbra became a Roman Catholic, writing a special mass in celebration. Also at this time, the University of Oxford was forming a faculty of music. They invited Rubbra to be a lecturer there. After much thought, he accepted the post. From 1947 to 1968 Rubbra was a lecturer at the Music Faculty and a Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford. The army trio kept meeting, playing at clubs and broadcasting, for a number of years, but eventually Rubbra was too busy to continue with it. It is a measure of the high esteem in which Rubbra was held in the 1940s, that his Sinfonia Concertante and his song Morning Watch were played alongside such works as Elgar's The Dream of