 He was placed on the reserve list, and volunteered for service with the Imperial Yeomanry following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in late 1899.He was appointed second in command of the 11th battalion Imperial Yeomanry, with the temporary rank of major in the Army, on 10 February 1900, and left Liverpool for South Africa on the SS "Cymric" in March 1900.He was later promoted to lieutenant-colonel.