 He was educated at Harrow and Trinity College, Cambridge, spending summer holidays botanising at home under the encouragement of A. G. More.He held a commission in the 5th (Militia) Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles, where he was appointed captain on 3 March 1897.Following the outbreak of the Second Boer War, he was appointed Instructor of Musketry on 28 February 1900, and saw active service in South Africa 1901–1902.