 He was made Lieutenant in the Robin Hood Rifles in 1881 which became the 7th (Robin Hood) Battalion of the Sherwood Foresters, taking over command of the Battalion on 31 July 1915 at Hooge when they were ordered to dig a new trench and connect the British line where it had been captured by the Germans.He commanded the Battalion at the attack on the Hohenzollern Redoubt on 13 October 1915 He was mentioned in despatches and awarded the Distinguished Service Cross.He studied architecture under Samuel Dutton Walker in Nottingham from 1877–1882.