'A Khyberi of the Queen's Own Corps of Guides', 1853

Pen and ink drawing by Alfred Crowdy Lovett (1862-1919), 1910 (c).

The Queen's Own Corps of Guides, formed in 1846 by Lieutenant Harry D Lumsden in Peshawar, were the first military force to adopt khaki as a service dress. The Guides consisted of a unique combination of infantry companies and cavalry squadrons. The North West Frontier where they operated was rarely quiet and although many other cavalry and infantry regiments served there, none was engaged more frequently than the elite Guides.

The original for the illustration on p103 of G F MacMunn's 'Armies of India', published in 1911.