 At the beginning of the Second World War he joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve . He was given the rank of pilot officer , and by the time his service came to an end in 1944 he had been promoted to squadron leader . He also continued to act during the war , and performed small roles in the well @-@ known films The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp ( 1943 ) and The Way Ahead ( 1944 ) . He also had a top supporting role as the intelligence officer , Major Richards , in another classic British war movie , The Next of Kin ( 1942 ) . 
