His service record describes him as 5’ 2” tall weighing 99lb, brown hair and eyes, with a scar on the left jaw. On 22 Dec 1940 he married Rose Ada Dawson at St Lawrence’s Church, Catford in London. Their son was born in the summer of 1942.
| Unit or location | Role | Posted from | until |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Hampshire Scout Section | Scout Section Driver | 08 Apr 1941 | 16 May 1943 |
| Operation Bulbasket | SAS combatant | 10 Jun 1944 | 07 Jul 1944 |
| Operation Bulbasket | SAS combatant | 10 Jun 1944 | 07 Jul 1944 |
On enlisted he was posted to 18 Company, 1 Driver Training Centre. Completing his training he was posted to No.3 Bridge Company on 22 Feb 1940. He then passed through several other RASC units for short periods. He passed the Trade Test as Driver IC (Internal Combustion) Grade II on 14 Oct 1940.
On 8 Apr 1941 he was posted to HQ Auxiliary Units. In 17 Jul 1941 he transferred to the Royal Army Ordnance Corps as a Driver. He remained with them until 16 May 1943. Exactly where he served and in what role is unclear. The only clues is that he was admitted to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley in Hampshire on 26 Mar 1943, remaining until 6 Apr. the dates suggest he may have been with a Hampshire Scout Section, and was posted away as they reduced in size in 1943.
On 26 May 1943 he was sent to 81 Bulk Petrol Transport Company. He was there less than a fortnight before being posted to 1573 Light Anti Aircraft Company.
He is likely to have been one of many men invited to the Curzon Cinema to hear about the Special Air Service, volunteering to join them. He was officially posted to the SAS on 1 Feb 1944. A month later he was sent to Ringway to undertake parachute training, successful long completing this on 14 March 1944, as part of Course 105. Dropping as part of the main party on the night of 11 Jun, he linked up with the rest of Operation Bulbasket. Captured by the Germans after the ambush on 3 Jul 1944 at Verrières, he was murdered by them four days later and buried in an unmarked mass grave in the Forest of St Sauvant. This was discovered after the liberation and he was reinterred in the Rom Communal Cemetery.
Unusually the personal effects returned to his wife included a .32 revolver. Weapons issued were normally Government property and it is not known why he had this. We know that Auxiliary Units in some areas were issued with American .32 revolvers. Had he kept one?