formed Corps of Guides in December 1846 had been one of Sir Henry Lawrence's projects in which Hodson excelled. The Guides Corps had Lt Harry Burnett Lumsden as its commandant and Lt Hodson as adjutant. One of his duties was equipping the new regiment, including choosing the regiment's uniform. With Lumsden's approval, Hodson decided upon a lightweight uniform of Khaki colour, or "drab" as it was then referred to. This would be comfortable to wear and "make them invisible in a land of dust". Accordingly, in May 1848 he liaised with his brother Rev. George H. Hodson, in England, to send "drab" cloth for 900 men as well as 300 carbines. As a result, Hodson and Lumsden had the joint distinction of being the first officers to clothe a regiment in Khaki, which many view as the precursor of modern camouflage uniform. Later on, he was transferred to the Civil Department as Assistant Commissioner in 1849 and stationed at Amritsar. From there he travelled in Kashmir and Tibet. In 1852 he was appointed commandant of the Corps of Guides. On 5 January 1852, he married Susan Annette (died 4 November 1884), daughter of Capt C. Henry, RN, at Calcutta Cathedral; she was the widow of John Mitford of Exbury and he had known her prior to her first marriage. A daughter, Olivia, was born in 1853 but died in July 1854. While it was unusual at that time for a British soldier in India to be a Cambridge graduate, William further differed from the norm by enjoying classical literature for relaxation. He was a keen linguist and had an interest in learning the main languages of his host country at that time. On his arrival in India he started first learning Hindustani and later Persian, with help and encouragement from his mentor, Sir Henry Lawrence. This apparently was of intellectual and cultural interest to him, particularly as his army quarters offered him little in the way of culture or reading matter, save for the "usual copy of the Bible and works of Shakespeare". He even asked for "a formidable collection of classics" from his brother, although he probably did not see anything unusual in spending three hours a day studying Persian. He even "found it relaxing to read untranslated Xenophon". Indian rebellion At the outset of the Indian Mutiny, Hodson made his name by riding with dispatches from General Anson