Alfred Herbert Lungley, GC (1905–1989) was a British soldier of the

Royal Artillery The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises t ...

who distinguished himself during

rescue Rescue comprises responsive operations that usually involve the saving of life, removal from danger, liberation from restraint, or the urgent treatment of injury, injuries after an incident. It may be facilitated by a range of tools and equipm ...

efforts after the Quetta earthquake of 1935. Lungley was born in

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...

, on 20 October 1905. After joining the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

he was assigned to the

, and served in

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

with the 24th Mountain Brigade which was then stationed near

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

(then India, now

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

). On 31 May 1935 a serious earthquake hit the region near Quetta. This ranks as one of the deadliest earthquakes ever to hit

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, and as the 23rd worst earthquake worldwide (by death toll) to date. The quake was centred 4.0 kilometres South West of Ali Jaan. Most of the reported casualties occurred in the city of Quetta. Initial

communiqué A press release (also known as a media release) is an official statement delivered to members of the news media for the purpose of providing new information, creating an official statement, or making an announcement directed for public releas ...

drafts estimated a total of 20,000 people buried under the rubble, 10,000 survivors and 4,000 injured. The city was badly damaged and was immediately prepared to be sealed under military guard with medical help. Among other units, also the 24th Mountain Brigade was ordered to assist in rescue efforts. Lance-Sergeant Lungley was called to a house which had collapsed, trapping a man under the debris. He burrowed through the debris to reach and rescue the man, despite suffering a serious leg injury himself and the constant danger of the tunnel collapsing. For his extreme bravery during this operation, Lungley was awarded the Empire Gallantry Medal on 19 November 1935. In 1940 the Empire Gallantry Medal was revoked by Royal Warrant and replaced by the

George Cross The George Cross (GC) is the highest award bestowed by the British government for non-operational Courage, gallantry or gallantry not in the presence of an enemy. In the British honours system, the George Cross, since its introduction in 1940, ...

. All living recipients of the Empire Gallantry Medal and the next-of-kin of those recipients who had died since September 1939 were obliged to exchange their award for the newly established George Cross. After the end of World War II Alfred Lungley married and moved to

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, where he died in 1989. His ashes are buried at Earlham Crematorium in Norwich, where he and his wife are commemorated with a small plaque in the grounds of the Garden of Remembrance.

References

Recipients of the Empire Gallantry Medal 1905 births 1989 deaths Royal Artillery soldiers Military personnel from Colchester British Army personnel of World War II {{UK-army-bio-stub