The battalion was embodied on 22 January 1900 for service during the Second Boer War in South Africa. 650 officers and men left Queenstown in the "SS Orotava" the following month for Cape Town. Subsequently, awarded battle honour South Africa 1900–'02. Most of the battalion, 15 officers and 420 men, left Cape Town in April 1902 and arrived at Southampton the following month.