 When he committed himself to the newly-born Overseas Service from which in the end so astonishing an effort and importance were to emerge in and after the Second World War, he was in the position of a man who 'lit matches on Dartmoor in a November gale hoping to find his way'".For his efforts in leading the Empire, European and Overseas services, he was appointed firstly a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1942 and then a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1958.He was also elected a Fellow of his "alma mater" King's College London in 1964.