He was present at the action of Arogee and at the fall of Magdala, working as aide-de-camp to Brigadier-General Petrie and being mentioned in dispatches for his services.

[2][3][4] He served in the Second Anglo-Afghan War from 1878 to 1880, and was Sir Frederick Roberts' Chief of Staff during the march from Kabul to Kandahar.

[2] He was Quartermaster-General for India from 1885 to 1889, and introduced a system of organised native brothels for British other ranks in the hope of reducing the incidence of venereal diseases.

[6][7] As an active member of the Royal Geographical Society, he presented several lectures and wrote numerous papers on the effects of physical geography on the tactics and success of military operations.

[16][17] The Anglican priest and London County Council member the Rev Hugh Boswell Chapman was a younger brother.