On 9 August 1913, the "Somaliland Camel Constabulary" suffered a serious defeat at the Battle of Dul Madoba at the hands of the Ibraahin Xoorane and Axmed Aarey.

At Dul Madoba, 57 members of the 110-man unit were killed or wounded, including the commander, Colonel Richard Corfield.

On 12 March 1914, the British set out to create what was to become the Somaliland Camel Corps, to maintain order in the protectorate.

In 1930, Colonel Arthur Reginald Chater of the Royal Marines was placed in command of a slightly smaller corps of five hundred troopers.

Field Marshal Archibald Wavell, Commander-in-Chief of the Middle East Command, was appalled by the under-equipped force that was supposed to defend an entire colony.

During the Battle of Tug Argan, fought between 11–15 August when the Italian invaders attempted to force the positions, Camel Corps officer Captain Eric Charles Twelves Wilson of the East Surreys received the Victoria Cross (VC) for his use of a machine gun during the defence of Observation Hill.

Wilson was the only VC recipient during the Italian invasion of British Somaliland; only six other VCs were awarded for operations in East Africa.

The Camel Corps spent the following months rounding up stray Italians and policing against local bandits.

On 30 April 1944, six bombers of 61 Squadron, Royal Air Force, attacked and damaged the German submarine U-852 (Kapitänleutnant [Lieutenant-Captain] Heinz-Wilhelm Eck).

In 1939, on the brink of war, the Somaliland Camel Corps was organized as follows: The troopers of the Somaliland Camel Corps had a distinctive dress which was based on the standard British Army khaki drill, but included a knitted woollen pullover and drill patches on the shoulders.