Tuhia he haere tonu mo tenei whitianga - I uru a McLeay ki te Australian Imperial Force (AIF) i te Haratua 1915. I mahi ia i roto i ngā wae hauora i te Middle East me te Western Front. I a ia e tu ana i Parani hei kaikawe-kaikawe me te 13th Field Ambulance, i whakawhiwhia ki a ia te Tohu Hākinakina mo te maia i te ra tuatahi o te Pakanga Tuarua o Villers-Bretonneux
I te Paenga-whāwhā o te tau 1918. I tukuna a ia i te hōia i te Oketopa 1919.