After secondary education in Ottawa, Herbert Cole came to McGill where he earned his B.Sc. in 1904 and M.Sc. in 1905. He was a demonstrator in physics from 1905 to 1906, and deeply involved in the work of the Y.M.C.A. Under the aegis of the "Y", he taught science in China until 1923, when he undertook post-graduate work in physics at Columbia. He taught physics at Guilford College, North Carolina, and worked as guidance secretary in the Bronx Y.M.C.A. until 1929 when he was appointed Dean of Students at the University of Redlands in California. After his retirement, Cole worked in relief programmes in adult education, and as the manager of a gold mine.