He served with the Royal Garrison Artillery during the First World War and, following the war, he moved back to England to join West Ham United in July 1919, where he spent the next seven seasons. He made his debut at home against Barnsley in September 1919 and, having taken over the captaincy from Billy Cope for the 1922–23 season, led the West Ham side that gained promotion to the First Division and reached the FA Cup Final against his former club, Bolton Wanderers, in 1923. This was the first FA Cup final to be played at Wembley, the so-called White Horse Final. He was one of the few members of the Cup Final side never to win an international cap but became the first West Ham player to play over 200 league games for the club.