Ace Beach was born in Saskatchewan. He joined the Canadian Officers Training Corps in 1941. He joined the active force and was sent overseas in December 1942. He trained on Sherman Tanks in North Africa to prepare for the invasion of Sicily, joining the Three Rivers Regiment (1st Armoured Brigade) in Fall 1943 just below Ortona, Italy. In Italy, he made a report on the battle of Lake Trasimene Line. Later, he was involved in Operation Goldflake (Invasion of France), and further action in Holland, where he eventually accepted the surrender of about 140 enemy troops. He was later awarded the American Silver Star for this feat. He was then posted to a reconnaissance team (to gather up weapons) and promoted to Captain. After the war, he studied Psychology. He studied at the University of Edinburgh and the University of Saskatchewan, where he qualified as a Rhodes Scholar. He went to Oxford for his M.A. and received his Ph.D from McGill University. He taught at UVIC in Psychology and also became Director of Counseling Services.