life is rather scant and the details differ between sources, but according to his First World War attestation form he was privately educated. In early 1900, Shout travelled to South Africa with his elder half-brother, William McGovern. The brothers sought to join one of the colonial contingents then engaged in the Second Boer War; Alfred enlisted in the newly raised Border Horse on 17 February 1900, while William (using the surname Shout) found a place in Bethune's Mounted Infantry. The Border Horse was an irregular colonial force formed in eastern Cape Colony, and Shout was allotted to the unit's No. 1 Company with the service number 9216. Serving at Wittebergen, Transvaal, and in the Cape Colony with the Border Horse, Shout was twice wounded, including once in the chest. In an action at Thabaksberg on 29 January 1901, the then Lance Corporal Shout assisted in maintaining the position of his men. At one point during the engagement, he ventured out under heavy rifle fire to retrieve a wounded man, and brought him back to a covered position; Shout's bravery in this action earned him a mention in despatches. He was promoted to sergeant on 7 May 1901, and discharged from the Border Horse 16 days later. He then served with the Stellenbosch District Mounted Troop until 1902. Shout was issued the Queen's South Africa Medal with "Wittebergen", "Transvaal" and "Cape Colony" clasps, and the King's South Africa Medal with the clasps "South Africa 1901" and "South Africa 1902" for his service in the Boer War. Shout decided to remain in South Africa after his discharge and, in 1903, enlisted in the Cape Colonial Forces. He was made a sergeant in Prince Alfred's Own Cape Field Artillery, with which he served until 1907. While living in Cape Town, Shout married Rose Alice Howe, an Australian from Sydney, in 1905; the couple had a daughter named Florence in June that year. In 1907, the Shout family immigrated to Australia, settling in the Sydney suburb of Darlington. Here, Shout gained employment as a carpenter and joiner at Resch's Brewery. He also joined the 29th Infantry Regiment of the part-time Citizens' Forces shortly after arriving in Sydney, was a foundation member of the 29th Infantry Club, and a regular visitor at the Randwick rifle range, where he gained a reputation as an excellent shot. Shout was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Citizens'