Following the outbreak of World War I, which saw him attending the Staff College, Camberley as a student,[3] Brind was sent to France as a captain with the Royal Garrison Artillery on 16 August 1914[4] and then served as a general staff officer with 56th (London) Division from 6 February 1916 to 31 October 1916.[5] He then became a brigadier on the general staff of XI Corps, part of the Fifth Army.[6]