 He was educated at Norwich School.He was Lord Mayor of Norwich from 1912 to 1913 and was made an Honorary Freeman of the City of Norwich in 1928.In 1918 he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for Farnham, a seat he would hold until 1937, and served under Stanley Baldwin as Secretary for Overseas Trade from 1924 to 1927 and as Financial Secretary to the Treasury from 1927 to 1929.