 Travers was born in Kensington, London.In 1910 he joined the family firm of Joseph Travers and Sons Ltd., but left to enlist in the British Army on the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.Travers served in France as a member of the Machine Gun Section of 1st Battalion, Honourable Artillery Company, before entering the Royal Navy in December 1915 as a probationary flight sub-lieutenant to serve in the Royal Naval Air Service.