Follows served as a
Lieutenant in
The King's (Liverpool Regiment) in the
First World War. He joined the colonial service after the war. He was appointed to
Seychelles from 1920 to 1925,
Gibraltar from 1925 to 1927,
Northern Rhodesia as the Chief Secretary from 1935 to 1945. He was appointed Chief Financial Advisor to the Civil Affairs Unit in Hong Kong's post-war military administration reporting to
David MacDougall (Chief Civil Affairs Officer). When civilian government was restored on 1 May 1946 he was appointed
Financial Secretary of Hong Kong under governor
Sir Mark Young. Follows outlined his financial strategy for Hong Kong to the Legislative Council on 25 July 1946. His first objective was to facilitate a rapid recovery after the period of occupation; and his second was to be financially independent of Britain as soon as possible. He oversaw a rapid recovery in the post-war economy of Hong Kong. He retired to
Harare,
Zimbabwe, where he died in 1983. ==Honours==