He was born on 23 March 1926 at Doncaster. After the family moved to Leeds he grew up in the Sunday School at Headingley and worshipped at Brunswick Church. He served in the RAF and then the Royal Corps of Signals in India and Malaya and after the war joined his father's insurance and estate agency business in Doncaster. He became a local preacher, class leader and circuit steward, and served on various district and connexional committees. In 1954 he was invited to attend the first conference of the Westminster Laymen's Movement and became involved in the movement. He wasVice-President of the Conference in 1964 at the age of 38 and entered the ministry in 1984. He was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. He died at Sandown, IoW, on 16 August 2012.