In November 1927, Poett was posted with the regiment to Egypt, with his battalion being stationed at Mustapha Barracks on the outskirts of the city of Alexandria. In December 1929, Poett was informed that his father had died, although his mother urged him not to return home, as he would not be able to return to Britain before the funeral took place. One month later, in January 1930, Poett was informed that he was to be transferred to the regiment's 2nd Battalion, which was soon to move to Razmak, a frontier post in Waziristan on the North-West Frontier. Poett first spent a month's leave visiting his family and travelling around Europe, and was then transported by troopship to Port Said. Arriving in April, Poett joined a draft of troops joining the 2nd Battalion, and then spent two weeks on a train travelling to the city of Bannu; once there, the draft were forced to remain until they could join one of the lorry columns that transported troops to Razmak. These only travelled once or twice a week, as the area surrounding the route to Razmak had to be guarded by British troops to protect the lorries from hostile tribesmen and snipers. The area around Razmak was in open conflict, with hostile tribesmen attacking those villages that had allied themselves with the British authorities, and sniping at British patrols.