Early Career
In 1899, Burnett enlisted as a private in the Imperial Yeomanry in order to fight in the Second Boer War. Burnett claimed to be 18 when he was in fact only 17. He was discharged in 1901 in order that he might take a commission and he was gazetted as a second lieutenant in the Highland Light Infantry in October 1901. Burnett was then attached to the Imperial Yeomanry for the next three years. He temporarily held the rank of lieutenant from 26 April 1902 to 7 February 1903.
On 20 August 1904, Burnett was seconded to the West African Frontier Force. During the next five years Burnett saw action in Northern Nigeria, contracted blackwater fever, was promoted to lieutenant and was twice Mentioned in Despatches.
Burnett resigned his commission in September 1909 and then entered business as a part-owner of a shop in Portuguese Guinea. He did not meet with particular success as a businessman and by 1911 was employed by the British diplomatic service as the assistant resident in Ilorin, Nigeria.
Read more about this topic: Charles Burnett (RAF Officer)
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