Prior to co-founding the CFA, he had gotten his start in the British Army's Scots Guards, and eventually moved on to the SAS before becoming a mercenary. Despite his moniker, however, he was not a member of the aristocratic class, with it being unknown how he got the moniker. Eventually, he helped found the CFA alongside at least three other British personnel, due to the private force's connection to South Africa, and by extension, to the British.