Overseas service for the 1st King's included a two-year residence in Nova Scotia, beginning in 1893. In January 1895, the battalion provided a 100-man guard of honour when the body of Canadian Prime Minister John Thompson was returned from Britain. The battalion subsequently became stationed in the West Indies, then Cape Colony in 1897. The Second Boer War began two years later. Prior to the outbreak of the war, as the discord between the British and Boer republics escalated, the 1st King's formed a company of mounted infantry and underwent intensive training at Ladysmith, Natal Colony. War was declared on 11 October and Natal invaded by a Boer force under General Piet Joubert. General George White held authority over 13,000 British personnel dispersed throughout Natal. Heavy losses were incurred by the British in the first major engagements of the war, at Talana Hill and Elandslaagte. Retreat to Ladysmith, where the British concentrated its largest contingent, ensued. Having besieged Kimberley and Mafikeng, Boers converged upon Ladysmith and positioned artillery pieces on surrounding hills overlooking the town.