Educated at Wellington College, Berkshire and the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich Brind was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery in 1897.[1] He served in the Second Boer War in South Africa 1899-1900, where he took part in operations in the Orange Free State, including engagements near Vet River and Sand River, and was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant on 23 December 1900. After the war, he was promoted to the rank of Captain on 11 April 1902,[2] and served with the Native Mountain Artillery in India.