Born and grew up around Filey with his brother Walter (also a casualty) and parents who owned two grocers shops at 21 and 35 John St. His parents eventually sold their shop and moved to Knaresborough when their boys had grown up; Herbert moved to Hull and to a job working for Messrs. Hammond Ltd., while Walter stayed in Filey by himself.  Whilst in Hull Herbert joined the 5^th East Yorkshire Cyclists and became a territorial which meant that at the outbreak of war he was ‘called up’ and was one of the first 58 volunteers to join the newly formed 1^st/4^th East Yorkshire Regt.  This landed in France on 17^th May 1915.  Within three months of being in France he was hit during an attack and died at an advanced dressing station at Armentieres.