 He lied about his age and joined the British Army in 1906 and served during the First World War, where he was wounded on three occasions and gassed while fighting in France.Returning to Britain, he eventually settled in Eastleigh where he worked at a railway works before being encouraged by a blind friend to take up racewalking.Green's career began to rise during the late 1920s and reached its peak during the 1930s, when he became the first British national and Olympic 50 km racewalking champion.