 After starting work in the family business, he found a post selling advertising space for the "Hardware Trade Journal".He had been attracted by the politics of the proprietor, Sir Ernest Benn, and had become a member of the Individualist Society, which Benn founded.Longhurst started writing for a monthly golf magazine called "Tee Topics" and came to the attention of the editor of the "Sunday Times" who invited him to contribute to the sporting page.