A native of Blackheath, London, he joined a professional touring company at the age of 19 and appeared in the gala performance to mark King George V's Coronation. A former West End theatre producer, he retired to Cornwall in 1928 to devote himself to painting and etching, but nonetheless found his dramatic talents in great demand.

In subsequent years he devoted himself to stage management and producing, also founding the Cornwall Shakespeare Festival (1933). Although his art seems to have taken a back seat, he became involved with STISA in the 1950s when he lived at Blue Hills, Ludgvan, Penzance, and worked from the Loft Studio, St Ives. The Princess Royal bought one of his pictures from an exhibition in Harrogate at this time.

A relative of the artist has contacted us (2020) with the information that he is in possession of an oil painting of Porthmeor Beach by Ernest Peirce.