Corps of Guides ( India ) The Corps of Guides was a regiment of the British Indian Army which served in the North West Frontier and had a unique composition of being part infantry and part cavalry . It evolved through the 20th century to become the Frontier Force Regiment . History . The brainchild of Sir Henry Lawrence , the Corps had Lt . Harry Lumsden as its commandant and W . S . R . Hodson ( the Hodson of " Hodson ' s Horse " ) as second - in - command . On 6 February 1847 Lumsden wrote to his father " I have just been nominated to raise the corps of Guides . It will be the finest appointment in the country " . A few months later , on 16 September 1847 Hodson wrote to his brother " . . of my good furtune . . . I am to be the Second - in - Command with the Corps of Guides " . The Corps had modest beginnings . When it was raised at Kalu Khan , on the Yusufzai Plain , in the Peshawar Valley region by Lt . Lumsden in December 1846 , it comprised just one troop of cavalry and two companies of infantry . The first action was at Mughdara , in the Panitar Hills . Within two years , the small force of Guides had established a name for itself , under Lumsden , its founder , and Hodson . When the Second Sikh War broke out in 1848 , the unit was given authorisation for a three - fold increase in size , to six companies of infantry and three troops of cavalry . The Guides maintained the quirky ' cavalry and infantry combined in the same regiment ' format for many years , and even when split into two separate components , the name lingered in both elements . The Corps of Guides became the garrison unit of a key post on the frontier , the new fort of ( Hoti ~ ) Mardan . The building of the fort in 1854 was organised and supervised by Hodson who had been promoted commandant of the regiment in 1852 . In 1857 the unit was called urgently to help relieve the Siege of Delhi . In just over three weeks the Guides marched nearly six hundred miles during the hottest month of the year , crossing five great rivers and fighting four small actions . The march coincided with the month of Ramadan meaning that the muslim soldiers in the force could neither eat nor drink during the hours of daylight . On arrival at Delhi , the force of 600 Guides were almost immediately called upon to join the defence of the city . Men who had just completed a march of some 580 miles were thrown into a battle of such intensity that no fewer than 350 of the 600 became casualties within an hour of their arrival in Delhi . The Corps of Guides was part of the Frontier Force brigade and developed a reputation of being an elite unit . They were the first unit in the Indian or British Armies to dress in " khaki " . Typically , the Guides were often used in small detachments , usually supported by other Frontier Force troops . The designations of the Corps of Guides changed over time as follows : In 1911 the cavalry and infantry components were designated as such . The cavalry then became , successively : - and the infantry : - Post - World War II . In 1945 , the 12th Frontier Force Regiment was renamed the Frontier Force Regiment and on independence and the partition of India it was allocated to Pakistan . The cavalry regiment was also allocated to Pakistan and was renamed the Guides Cavalry ( Frontier Force ) . In 1957 , the Frontier Force Rifles and The Pathan Regiment were amalgamated with the Frontier Force Regiment to form a new Frontier Force Regiment . The Guides battalion became the 2nd battalion of the new regiment . The Guides , along with the 2nd Gurkha Rifles ( Sirmoor Rifles ) and the 60th Rifles won with their blood the unique honour and the right to wear red piping on the collars of their Uniforms . As such both The 10th Guides Cavalry ( FF ) and the 2nd Battalion ( The Guides ) of the Frontier Force Regiment of the Pakistan Army wear red piping on the collars of their uniforms .