He was High Sheriff of Bedfordshire in 1926 and Lord Lieutenant of the county from 1943 to 1957. He lived at Houghton Hall, Houghton Regis Bedfordshire, and was Joint Master of the Hertfordshire Hounds. He also owned Morvich in Sutherland. In 1938 his horse, Morse Code, ridden by D Morgan, won the Cheltenham Gold Cup. He was knighted in 1957.
His first wife was Edith Christie-Miller, and after her death in 1957 he married Avice Myrtilla Long. His funeral at Aldenham parish church in 1961 was conducted by the bishop of Bedford.