At the Battle of Talana Hill he was wounded and his commanding officer was killed.

[4] He was subsequently promoted to lieutenant colonel in command of the 1st Battalion on 25 January 1900.

[10][4] In 1916, he was appointed colonel of the Highland Light Infantry, succeeding General Sir Henry Hildyard.

[11][12] In 1888 a fellow infantry officer, Major Gilbert, who had been serving in India, named Pitcairn Campbell as co-respondent in the divorce case against his wife.

The following year, he and Edith Gilbert (née Prothero) married and went on to have one daughter.