Finishing his apprenticeship after four trips aboard a sailing ship, Mount Stewart, he journeyed as second mate in the barque Amulree in 1898.

Promoted to sub-lieutenant in 1901, he was posted as an acting lieutenant to the battleship HMS Nile on 23 June 1902, to serve during the Coronation Fleet Review for King Edward VII.

This was due to winning an essay competition about the Russo-Japanese War, in which he was, upon the intervention of Admiral Lord Charles Beresford, "elevated to join the list of Supplementary Lieutenants".

He remained in Adventure after he reached the Command, acting as captain of the fleet to Vice Admiral Sir Lewis Bayly.

Vice Admiral Bayly reported back to the Admiralty on 30 April 1916, when commenting about the incident, that Hyde "performed his duties with great tact and ability".

On 16 February 1929, after the deterioration of his marriage with his first wife, Alice Trefusis, which ended in divorce in 1928, Hyde married Isla Robertson.

In 1936, while still in England, he acted as adviser to the Australian High Commissioner, Stanley Melbourne Bruce, and was a participant in discussions which led to the formation of the Second London Naval Treaty.

Although a coronial inquiry relinquished him of any blame, the incident caused him enormous distress, contributing to his death of pneumonia in Melbourne eight days later.