An artillery officer, he served in British India, the First Boer War in South Africa and in Egypt.

Francis John Fox was born in County Westmeath, Ireland on 20 September 1857, to a British Army officer and his wife.

Before arriving in the country, he had taken the time to bring himself up to date with both the guns used by New Zealand's military and current developments in mine and torpedo technology.

Fox took much longer than expected to complete his report, which proved highly critical of a significant portion of the officers of the Volunteer Force.

He made several recommendations; these included streamlining the Volunteer Force and reducing the number of military districts from 11 to a more manageable five.

His undiplomatic approach put him offside with Seddon, now the New Zealand Prime Minister, who clashed with Fox over the appropriate action to take to remedy the country's defences.

[Note 1] Likewise, Seddon vetoed the possibility of Fox taking the position of Under-Secretary for Defence.

Seddon, already under pressure from W. R. Russell, a political opponent, was further put on the defensive when the Governor of New Zealand, Lord Glasgow, began to query the state of the country's defences.

[6] Seddon strongly suspected Fox, who was courting and would later marry Russell's daughter Cara, of agitating with both men.

[1] When the Second Boer War broke out in 1899, he attempted to join the New Zealand Contingents being raised for service in South Africa but was thwarted by Seddon's refusal to grant him a suitable commission.