 Charles Fowler was born near Lahore, Punjab, British India, the son of Deputy Surgeon-General Henry Day Fowler of the Indian Medical Service and Caroline Mary Oliver.Charles also had an older brother, Francis John Fowler, who also became a high-ranking Officer in the Indian Army.He was educated in England at Bedford Modern School and the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and was commissioned into the Devonshire Regiment as a lieutenant on 7 February 1885

In 1886 Fowler transferred to the Indian Army and joined the 22nd Punjabis based at Moltan, and most of his active service was initially concentrated in the region of the North-West Frontier Province.