Having studied at the Royal Academy, he then went on to pass the entrance exam to study a 3-year diploma course at the Royal College of Art when the war broke out. His mother wrote, "His creed was that in order to become a great artist, he must suffer. Consequently he joined the Infantry, believing that to be the roughest and hardest of the services."[5] He fought in Europe and survived Dunkirk, after which his regiment was posted to the Middle East