 In 1940 he joined the army, continuing to serve in the Senate.He was not re-elected in 1943, so when his term ended, he went on active service and became a "Rat of Tobruk", serving with the 2/7th Field Regiment, Royal Australian Artillery, in North Africa, and subsequently in Borneo.After his return, he stood in the 1949 election for the Liberal Party of Australia (which had absorbed the UAP in 1944) as its candidate in the newly created seat of Sturt, and won.