Born the second son of Captain John William Madden of the 4th (King's Own) Regiment and Emily Madden (née Busby), Madden joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in the training ship in 1875. Promoted to midshipman he was posted to the central battery ship , flagship of Admiral Geoffrey Hornby Commander-in-Chief of the Mediterranean Fleet in 1877 and was deployed to Constantinople during the Russo-Turkish War. He transferred to the corvette in the East Indies Squadron in 1880. Promoted to sub-lieutenant on 27 October 1881, he was deployed to Suez during the Anglo-Egyptian War and was mentioned in despatches in 1883. He transferred to the battleship in the Channel Squadron in September 1883.