[1] Having attended the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, Acland was commissioned into the Scots Guards as a second lieutenant on 22 December 1948, with seniority from that date.
[2] Acland was sent to desk work in the Ministry of Defence, responsible for the annual review of the number of major-generals' posts in the British Army.
[6] With the end of the Rhodesian Bush War and the establishment of the Republic of Zimbabwe Rhodesia in 1979, Acland was selected commander of the Commonwealth Monitoring Force.
[6] His aide-de-camp during this period was Iain Duncan Smith, who would later go on to lead the Conservative Party and hold several cabinet roles.
[8] After retiring from the military, Acland spent his time as director of Allied Vintners, then as chairman of the South West Working Party on Alcohol.
[1] Acland was president of The Royal British Legion Devon and sat on the Dartmoor National Park Authority.