Grandpa had learned to operate various machine guns in the OTC, partly because concerns that he had grown too fast and so overstrained his heart meant he was blocked from some physical activities and so did gun training as an alternative. So his last summer at school and the last summer of World War 1 he daily rode his moped from his home in Southampton to a nearby camp for American troops who had arrived here to support the war effort. He arrived, saluted the American sergeant who outranked him and then gave the sergeant his orders for the day because Grandpa was responsible for training him and his men in using the British guns.

He wore OTC uniform sometimes because he was so tall that he could be mistaken for someone of military age and those considered to be dodging the draft were not always treated kindly in public.