Sir Hector Munro was born on 13 September 1848 and was educated at the Academy and University of Edinburgh. He received his commission as Captain in the Ross-shire Militia, which became the 3rd (Militia) Battalion of the Seaforth Highlanders on 31 January 1871. He was subsequently promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel on 25 March 1885. Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in late 1899, many of the regular battalions of British regiments were sent to South Africa. Military service in other outpost of the British Empire were for several years filled by militia regiments, including the 3rd Seaforth Highlanders, which embarked for service in Egypt in February 1900, under the command of Sir Hector Munro.