Ralph started off his career with the Parachute Regiment, jumping into Egypt during the 1956 Suez Crisis where he was mentioned in dispatches (as you can see on his General Service Medal). After Egypt, he fought insurgencies in Yemen and Borneo with the 22 Special Air Service Regiment, before transferring to the Rhodesian Special Air Service.

After UDI, his skills were in high demand and he became a parachutist instructor with the Rhodesian Air Force. In 1979, he transferred to the Selous Scouts, and joined the South African Special Forces after 1981. Ralph the Rat, as he was affectionately known to those who had served with him, passed away peacefully in South Africa in 2004.