Temple destroyed by earthquake, Kangra, 1905

Photograph, India, 1905.

The Kangra region in Himachal Pradesh was hit by a major earthquake on 4 April 1905. The earthquake destroyed tens of thousands of buildings and is reported to have killed around 20,000 people. Hansard for 10 April 1905 records the Under-Secretary of State for India, the Marquess of Bath, reporting that, 'A double company of 34th Pioneers also left Mian Mir on April 7th to render assistance at Dharmsala, Palampur, Kangra and other places in Kangra Valley'.

The photograph is from an album compiled by Captain Alexander Masters, 34th Sikh Pioneers. Masters was born in West Bengal but was educated at Bedford and at the Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst. He received a commission with the Leicester Regiment in 1903 but returned to India as a captain with the 34th Sikh Pioneers. He served on the North West Frontier. In 1914, with the outbreak of World War One (1914-1918), the 34th formed part of the 3rd (Lahore) Division of the Indian Expeditionary Force, deployed to the Western Front. Masters was killed in action on 23 November 1914, at Festubert. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission records his grave at the Guards Cemetery, Windy Corner, Cuinchy, in the Pas de Calais, France.

From a photograph album containing 371 photographs compiled by Captain Alexander Masters, 34th Sikh Pioneers, 1905-1911 (c).