 He was educated at Bromsgrove School then Mason Science College in Birmingham (where he was the first geological pupil under Charles Lapworth) and then the Royal College of Science in London.From 1889 to 1891 he did geological work in South Africa in the Rand goldfields and from 1891 to 1893 worked in East Africa.In 1893 he returned to Britain and obtained a post at HM Geological Survey where he rose to the level of Assistant Director.