Having studied at the Kettering Central School for his School Certificate Examination he began to work at Kettering Post Office. On the outbreak of war he joined the Home Guard, and when called upon volunteered for the Royal Air Force. He did his flying training in Canada where he finally got his Wings in Medicine Hat, and although he volunteered for active service in the UK, the staff had realised he had an aptitude for teaching and so he was sent as a pilot/instructor to the Navigation Training school at Port Albert, where he stayed for a year before being sent back to England. The end of the War saw him posted to Palestine, where due to his previous experience he spent most of his time re-opening Post Offices. He finally got his discharge from the RAF in august 1946. 
 He always had a love of music, notably the big band sound and opera, which he passed on to myself at an early age. He played the trumpet for a while, and It was through this that he first noticed and met my mother, who was in the local Music shop , buying some sheet music for her violin. They started to see each other regularly at the local dances and got engaged when he was posted abroad. They fianlly found time to get married on the 6th August 1945.