Corps of Guides (British India)

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The Corps of Guides was a regiment of the British Indian Army.

The brainchild of Sir Henry Lawrence, the Corps was raised in Peshawar by Lt. Harry Lumsden in December 1846, and initially comprised one troop of cavalry and two companies of infantry.

Throughout its history the Corps was reorganized and renamed. It was known variously as:

The Corps of Guides (1846)
The Corps of Guides, Punjab Irregular Force (1857)
Corps of Guides, Punjab Frontier Force (1865)
Queen's Own Corps of Guides, Punjab Frontier Force (1876)
Queen's Own Corps of Guides (1901)
Queen's Own Corps of Guides (Lumsden's) (1904)
Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides (Frontier Force) (Lumsden's) (1911).

In 1914 the cavalry and infantry components were split and the cavalry became successively:

Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides (Frontier Force) (Lumsden's) Cavalry (1914)
10th Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides Cavalry (Frontier Force) (1922)
The Guides Cavalry (10th Queen Victoria's Own Frontier Force) (1927)

and the infantry:

Queen Victoria's Own Corps of Guides (Frontier Force) (Lumsden's) Infantry (1914)
5th Bn (QVO Corps of Guides) 12th Frontier Force Regiment (1922)

The Guides are the subject of George John Younghusband's book, The Story of the Guides, first published in March 1908.

1 Literature
2 The Girl Guides
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Literature

Rudyard Kipling's The Ballard of East and West is about the Guides.

[edit] The Girl Guides

The Girl Guides take their name from the Guides. In How Girls Can Help to Build Up the Empire, the Girl Guides' first handbook, it is explained:

On the Indian frontier the mountain tribes are continually fighting, and our troops there are renowned for their splendid achievement and gallant conduct. The best known of all is the corps called "The Guides" … To be a Guide out there means you are one who can be relied upon for pluck, for being able to endure difficulty and danger, for being able cheerfully to take up any job that may be required, and for readiness to sacrifice yourself for others. Girls can be just as good as men in these points if they like … The Guides in India are distinguished for their keenness and courage, and for their general handiness and resourcefulness under difficulties; in fact the world GUIDE has come to mean one who embodies these desirable qualities, including industry, practical commonsense and self-reliance. ^[1]