Gorringe initially served at Chatham and Aldershot, and was promoted to Lieutenant on 17 February 1891. He was attached to the Egyptian Army in 1892-1899 and served with the Dongola Expedition of 1896 and with the Nile Expeditions of 1897–1899. He was promoted to Captain on 17 February 1899, and brevet Major the following day. In late November 1899 he commanded a Battalion of Irregular Sudanese troops during the operations leading to the defeat of the Khalifa (mentioned in despatches 25 November 1899), and for his services in the Sudan he received the brevet rank of lieutenant-colonel on 14 March 1900. He then served in the South African War of 1899–1901, and was in November 1900 appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for his services. Gorringe again served in the Egyptian Army in the Sudan 1902–1904.