In 1897, he was promoted to lieutenant and served with a composite regiment of the Household Cavalry in the Second Boer War in South Africa from 1899 to 1902. He was present at the Relief of Kimberly and several other battles in Orange Free State, the Transvaal Colony and the Cape Colony. He was Mentioned in dispatches, was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal with six clasps and was appointed a Companion of the Distinguished Service Order (DSO) on 29 November 1900.