 From 1882 to 1892, Lieutenant-Colonel Southey was the staff officer responsible for the volunteer units in Cape Town, and from 1884 to 1890 he also commanded the city's senior regiment, the Duke of Edinburgh's Own Volunteer Rifles.From 1892 to 1902, he was Commandant of Volunteers, in charge of the volunteer forces throughout the colony.He introduced many reforms to raise standards of efficiency and training, and was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath (CB) in November 1900 for his services during the Second Boer War.