 He received his formal education at Eton College.Ward-Jackson served in the 3rd Yorkshire Regiment from 1891, and was appointed a lieutenant in the Yorkshire Hussars (a Yeomanry regiment) on 26 May 1897.Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War in late 1899, he volunteered for active service and was seconded to the Imperial Yeomanry on 24 February 1900, where he was appointed a lieutenant in the 66th Company of the 16th Battalion.