Background
Durnford was born in to a military family at Manor Hamilton, County Leitrim, Ireland. His father was General E.W. Durnford, Colonel Commandant of Royal Engineers. His younger brother, Edward, also served in the British military, as a lieutenant-colonel in the Royal Marine Artillery. During his formative years he lived with his uncle in Düsseldorf, Germany.
Durnford returned to England to enter the Royal Military Academy at Woolwich and was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers in 1848. Between 1851 and 1856 he served in Ceylon, stationed at Trincomalee, where he provided distinguished assistance in designing the harbour. In 1853 Durnford was instrumental in saving portions of the harbour defences from destruction by fire.
Durnford volunteered for service in the Crimean War but was not accepted. He was transferred in 1856 to Malta as an intermediate posting, but did not see active service either in the Crimea or in the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. He served in Malta as an adjutant until February 1858, when he was posted back to Chatham and Aldershot in England. Between 1861 and 1864 Durnford commanded No. 27 Field Company, Royal Engineers, at Gibraltar. In 1864, promoted to captain, he returned to England in order to take up a posting prepare for a transfer to China, but was invalided back to England while in transit. After his recovery, Durnford spent the next six years at Devonport and Dublin on routine garrison duties. In 1871 he received a posting to South Africa.
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