 After the war he entered the Foreign Office and Diplomatic Service in 1919, where he acted as private secretary to Sir Arthur Steel-Maitland and Sir Hamar Greenwood (when they were additional Parliamentary Under Secretaries for Foreign Affairs).He served as Assistant Secretary to Lord Milner's mission to Egypt and as Lord Milner's private secretary, was appointed Second Secretary in 1920, First Secretary in 1924 and was posted to Oslo in 1925.In 1927, he transferred to the Foreign Office as Chief Clerk of the News Department.