 He joined the Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey) in February 1888, was promoted to a lieutenant on 26 June 1889, and served in the Hazara Expedition in 1891.From 1892 to 1895 he explored the eastern Hindu Kush, for which he won the MacGregor Memorial medal and was a gold medallist of the Royal United Services Institute in India.He served with the Chitral Relief Force in 1895, on the North-West Frontier of India from 1897 to 1898, and was promoted to captain (supernumerary) on 11 February 1899.