After Sandhurst, Alfred Tippinge was an ensign of the 68th regiment in 1838. He rose through the ranks as lieutenant 1843, captain 1847, and brevet major 1854, then he transferred to the Grenadier Guards. He became captain and lieutenant colonel in 1858. He "served with distinction" in four fields of the Crimean campaign: Alma, Balaclava, Sebastapol and Inkerman. He was badly wounded at Inkerman, and "left for dead on the field ... for twenty-four hours" before rescue. Following the 1854 campaign he received "the Crimean medal with four clasps, the Knighthood [or Chevalier] of the Legion of Honour, the fifth class of the Medjidie, and the Turkish medal". The "Hampshire Advertiser" called him "Inkerman hero", and said, "He was once described as one of the bravest men in action ever known". Tippinge retired from the army in 1858.