The idea for raising such a body of troops was Sir Henry Lawrence's. He appointed a young officer, Lt. Harry Lumsden as its commandant and on 6 February 1847 Lumsden took over his famous command. The class or tribal composition of the men recruited for 'The Guides' was mostly of Pathans of the region. The headquarters of the Guides was at Mardan (now in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan). 