Early Life and Career
He was the oldest of five children born to Lieutenant-Colonel Henry Horatio Kitchener (1805–1894) and his wife Frances Anne Chevallier (1826–1864). Among his siblings was the famous military commander Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener.
He spent his early life in Tralee in Ireland where he and his siblings received their education from governesses and tutors. Kitchener joined the British Army in 1866 and was commissioned into the 46th (South Devonshire) Regiment of Foot before joining the newly created Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry when it was founded in 1881. He also served alongside his brother in France during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. From July 1876 until July 1878 he served as garrison instructor at the Curragh Camp in Ireland and in 1879 he was appointed the Instructor in military topography at the Royal Military College a post he held until August 1886.
He saw his first action in Burma with the British Army where he was Chief transport officer of the Field Force's during the Manipur Expedition in 1891. His was posted to Jamaica in December 1898 where he was appointed Deputy Assistant Adjutant General for the British colony before receiving his final posting in the Army when he was appointed commander of the Depot for the West Indies Regiment. He retired from the Army in 1903 with the rank Colonel.
Read more about this topic: Henry Kitchener, 2nd Earl Kitchener
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