After qualifying he was appointed in Command of Felixstowe Air Station and promoted to Flight Commander. (He was already a substantive Captain R.M. dated 1 September 1912 at the time of taking his flying course). On 1 July 1914 he was promoted to Squadron Commander (Temp Major) and on 14 September 1914 he was put in charge of the "Armoured Car Aeroplane Support Force". The original intention of the Armoured Cars was to assist the RNAS to form temporary air bases but in the event they became as much involved in the land war as pat.rolling the air over Ypres, Cambrai, Lille etc. The armoured cars were hastily improvised from private cars and eight London omnibus chassis and were fitted with Maxim guns and 3-pounders with boiler plate armour. The Eastchurch wing was re-titled No.1 Naval Wing and operated from St. Pol near Dunkirk. It's mixed bag of aircraft and armoured cars was made up as follows:

Two BE biplanes, two Sopwith biplanes, one Short biplane, two Bleriot monoplanes, one Henri Farman and one Bristol biplane. Ten touring cars, three Mercedes Lorries and eight London omnibus chassis.

All of these under Wing Commander CR. Samson, a bearded flamboyant character, later to be Air Vice Marshal, began a completely unorthodox and uninhibited war and were very early in the fight. The following extract from Risk's Statement of War Service will give an idea of the varied activities of an RM Pilot in the R.N.A.S in those days. It will be noted that the Wing took its armoured cars to Egypt and the Dardanelles, in fact Risk was wounded at Anzac with the Motor Maxim Sqdn.
"26 Septemeber 1914-11 October 1914. Carrying out Armoured Car Patrols in France and Belgium in Armoured Car actions on 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th October 1914.
12 October 1914 - 28 February 1915. At Admiralty designing new type of Armoured Car. At Wormwood Scrubs Airship Station training Officers and Ratings.
29 Fenraury 1915 - 28 April 1915. Dardanelles, Port Said etc.
In command of all Armoured Car Squadrons in
Mediterranean Command.
28 April 1915 - 30 April 1915. Landed at Anzac. Wounded, bullet wound through left thigh 30th April 15.
30 April 1915 - 21 June 1915. H.S. Somali, Malta Hospital, RNH Chatham, via H.S. 'Rewa.'
June to August 1915 (exact dates unknown) Dunkirk in command of Armoured Cars in France and in charge of Armoured Car Base at Mardyck Camp.
Training fresh squadrons etc.
August 1915 - March 1916. Appointed in Command of Dover Air Station.
March - October 1916. In Command of Isle of Grain Seaplane Station."

His later appointments have not been traced.

After the War he transferred to the R.A.F. although he had been promoted to the substantive rank of Major RMLI on 1 September 1917.

The earliest available Air Force List (January 1923) shows that he was a Wing Commander with seniority 1 April 1918 and he retired on 7 December 1922 in that rank.