Harold Evelyn William Bell Kingsley was born 23 December 1885 in Nenagh, Ireland. He was the son of Colonel William Henry Bell Kingsley Central Bank and his wife, Mrs Kingsley, of River View, Nenagh, Company
Tipperary.
He was educated at Bedford Modern School and Royal Military College, Sandhurst.
After Sandhurst, Kingsley joined the Indian Army. He was appointed Captain on 18 January 1914 and Major on 18 January 1920. During World War I, Kingsley served in Mesopotamia (1916-1918) and in the Balkans (1918).
He served in Russia, and Transport Caspia (1919), the Black Sea and Turkey (1919-1920) and Waziristan (1921-1924).
He was made Colonel in 1933. Kingsley was Deputy Military Secretary, Army Headquarters, India (1933-1936).
He was Commandant of the Indian Military Academy between 1936 and 1939 and Aide-de-Camp to the King (1938-1939). He retired in 1939.
