He was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Scots Guards on 18 July 1896, and promoted to the rank of lieutenant on 22 September 1898. Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in late 1899, he was with the 2nd Battalion of his regiment as it left Southampton for South Africa on the SS Britannic in March 1900.
On July 18, 1896, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Scots Guards and promoted to lieutenant on September 22, 1898. After the Second Boer War started late in 1899, he joined his regiment's 2nd Battalion aboard the SS Britannic for their voyage to South Africa in March 1900.