 Latham, who had previously served in the Second Boer War, was commissioned into the 7th battalion of the Royal Welch Fusiliers in the First World War and promoted to Lieutenant in 1916.He spent several months training with his regiment at Park Hall Camp near Oswestry before being deployed in June 1916.He was awarded the Military Cross in 1917 and was reportedly originally recommended for the Victoria Cross, the highest military honour for British forces, for his gallantry in capturing enemy positions on the Turkish front while under heavy fire, taking soldiers from Austria, Germany and Turkey as prisoners.