Patrick joined Panbourne Nautical College on the 22nd September 1941, his family having moved to Upper Roundhurst Farm near Haslemere due to their former home in Bromley, Kent receiving a direct hit from the Luffwaffe earlier in the year.

Patrick left the College in November 1944 at the age of seventeen, determined not to "miss the war." From December 1944 until June 1945 he served as an apprentice on the Royal Mail Lines SS Samphill, transporting war supplies from New York to Antwerp. On return he joined the Army and after basic training was posted to Belfast.

Following the end of the war, Patrick joined the Palestine Police and served until the conclusion of the British Mandate in 1948, returning home on his 21st birthday. He began training as an architect in London and also enlisted in the Westminster Dragoons 1949-1950. During this time he worked for E.A.Stone, Toms & Partners and Henry Goddard.

Having qualified with the Royal Institute of British Architects, Patrick moved to Gloucestershire and joined Peter Falconer & Partners. During his career he specialised in the preservation and restoration of historic houses, churches and other buildings including Cheltenham College and many Trustee Saving Banks. He also designed many new buildings in Britain and overseas; including offices, factories, breweries, wine stores and distribution depots. He retired a partner with the Falconer Partnership in Stroud, Gloucestershire. After retiring from full-time practice, he continued to work part-time as "Clerk of Works" to the Frampton Court Estate in Frampton on Severn.

Patrick enjoyed a long and happy retirement. He greatly enjoyed the company of family and friends and of his faithful terrier "Fred". He passed away peacefully in November 2024, and is survived by his wife, Lorna, their three sons, his four daughters from his first marriage to Heather, and many grandchildren and great-grandchildren.