In 1899, Belson was invited to join the British Isles rugby team on their tour of Australia, but was denied the six-month leave by his employers.

[5] In September 1899, a month after the end of the rugby tour, the Bath Chronicle reported that Belson had taken an appointment in Sydney,[5] showing a commitment to stay in Australia.

In 1900, Belson joined the newly formed Imperial Yeomanry, and travelled to South Africa to serve the British Army in the Second Boer War.

He left South Africa on 16 July 1902, leaving Cape Town on the SS Canada and returned to Britain a war invalid.

[3] After his banking job was moved to Wales in 1896, he played several games for Abergavenny RFC, but was back in the Bath team by February 1897.