 He won his Springbok (i.e.national) colours for shooting, and later joined the South African Air Force (SAAF), commencing his flying training in January 1941.He matriculated from Maritzburg College in 1938, upon which he enrolled as a medical student at the University of the Witwatersrand until mid-1940, before joining the SAAF as a volunteer for active service in World War II, first qualifying as an air gunner.