Prewar He served in
British India throughout the 1920s. Following his return to England he attended
Staff College, Camberley in 1935 and then was assigned to a Heavy Artillery Regiment in
Gibraltar for a year. In 1939 he became General staff officer 2 in the
1st Armoured Division.
World War II He served with the 1st Armoured Division in the
Battle of France and was
mentioned in despatches before the remnants of the division were evacuated from
Cherbourg in June 1940. He commanded the
20th Armoured Brigade from May to August 1942 and was subsequently appointed commander of the
26th Armoured Brigade. He led the brigade in a delaying action in the
Battle of Kasserine Pass, inflicting serious losses on the advancing
Axis forces. He was then appointed as Assistant Chief of Staff to the
United States Army II Corps, serving first under
Major general George Patton and then Major general
Omar Bradley, becoming friends of both men. He was recalled to England to serve as Deputy Director,
Royal Armoured Corps. In 1945, he became Director, General Fighting Vehicles at the
Ministry of Supply. He retired from the army in 1948. ==Later life==