He was the son of Thomas Charles Hose and Fanny (née Goodfellow). He was educated at Felsted and Jesus College, Cambridge. He married Emily Ravn in 1905 and had one son and one daughter. He entered the service of the Raja of Sarawak as a Sarawak cadet in March 1884. In 1888 he was Officer-in-Charge of the Baram District. In January 1891 he was Resident, 2nd class. By May 1904 he was Resident, 3rd Division, a member of Supreme Council and Judge of the Supreme Court of Sarawak. He retired in 1907 but he revisited Sarawak in 1909 and 1920. From 1916 to 1919 he was Superintendent of H.M. Explosives Factory, Kings Lunn. In 1919 he was a member of the Sarawak State Advisory Council at Westminster. In 1924 at the British Empire Exhibition in Wembley he was the Director of Agricultural and Industrial Exhibits, Sarawak Pavilion. Hose was a keen amateur photographer. With Robert Walter Campbell, Hose made an album of prints depicting scenery, people and the production of Sarawak. Many of these prints were also used in his books. Hose also made a large collection of fauna and flora from Sarawak.
Several species named to commemorate his work as zoologist:
Amphibians:
Hose's Frog, Odorrana hosii found in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia
Hose's Tree Frog, Philautus hosii endemic to Borneo: Indonesia and Malaysia prob. Brunei.
Hose's Toad, Pedostibes hosii, toad in Southeast Asia: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand

Birds:
Hose's Broadbill, Calyptomena hosii endemic to Borneo.
Black Oriole, Oriolus hosii endemic to Borneo.

Mammals:
Hose's Shrew or Bornean Pygmy Shrew, Suncus hosei endemic to Malaysia.
Hose's Pygmy Flying Squirrel, Petaurillus hosei endemic to Malaysia.
Four-striped Ground Squirrel, Lariscus hosei endemic to Borneo.
Hose's Palm Civet, Diplogale hosei endemic to Borneo: East Malaysia and Brunei.
Fraser's Dolphin, Lagenodelphis hosei
Hose's Leaf Monkey, Presbytis hosei endemic to Borneo.