Austin was the second son of Colonel Edmund Austin of the
British Indian Army. He was educated at
Clifton College and the
Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, before commissioning into the
Royal Engineers in 1887. He was promoted to lieutenant in 1890. In 1891 he was one of four officers of the Royal Engineers appointed to survey the route of the
Uganda Railway under
Sir James Macdonald, who he had met while serving on the
North-West Frontier. While in Africa he was made a Commander of the
Order of the Brilliant Star of Zanzibar and led an expedition to the
Omo River. He subsequently served in the Waziristan Expedition of 1894–1895, in operations in Uganda between 1897 and 1898 (for which he was awarded the
Distinguished Service Order), and in the Persian Gulf from 1909 to 1910. Austin was made a
Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the
1901 Birthday Honours for survey expeditions into Abyssinia. Austin was appointed a General Staff Officer in HQ India in 1914 and was Commandant of Cadet College Quetta the following year. In 1915 Austin was made a brigadier general and served on the General Staff during the
First World War. He was awarded the Serbian
Order of the White Eagle (3rd class, with swords) in 1916. ==Publications==