Royal Signals Museum - Postal Covers - The Mulepack Wireless Set

The Quetta Earthquake 1935 - The Mulepack wireless set

Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan. was one of the largest cantonments in British India, with a garrison of about 12000 troops. At 3.03 am on 31st May 1935 the city was devastated by a severe earthquake, lasting about thirty seconds, followed by many aftershocks. On the night of the earthquake the nearest major unit was the 2nd Divisional Signals, of the Indian Signal Corps, quartered about four miles from the city. The unit, under its CO Lt Col W.T Howe. immediately turned out and formed two relief columns, proceeding to the city, and commencing rescue operations.

The road into the city was cleared of rubble. ambulance convoys were organised for transporting the injured to dressing stations, and with civilian guides small parties of soldiers were despatched to aid in digging out victims lying under the ruins of their homes. It soon became apparent that the civilian Posts and Telegraph centre was severely damaged, and the city cut off from the outside world. The GOC Quetta District ordered Lt. Col Howe to withdraw his men from the rescue work, and concentrate on restoring communications. A signal office was established on the lawns of the Quetta Club, and wireless communications were established with Western Command and Army HQ. The P & T staff (who had suffered many casualties were assisted with the repair of telephone lines and restoring circuits to Karachi. During the afternoon the GOC spoke on a telephone circuit to the London Evening News for about twenty five minutes. At the end of the call he put down his instrument and asked Howe over. "It puzzles me, Bill," he said with a straight face, "you fix up a line all the way to London and I can hear the fellow at the other end as clearly as I can hear you now. But on a divisional exercise you lay me a line to a spot two fields away and I am damned if I can hear a thing!"

By the 10th June it was possible to close the military exchanges and revert to the civil telephone system. Total deaths in the city and surrounding villages were later estimated at 30,000. The scale of the earthquake is recorded as 7.5 Richter.

The Commander-in-Chief afterwards wrote to the Signal Officer-in-Chief as follows: "The work of the Signal Corps in this emergency has been altogether admirable. Without it, I scarcely like to think what might have happened. All soldiers responded to the call, but it was Signals who enabled the work to be co-ordinated and effective. Please tell them how much I admire their work".

Lt Col Howe was awarded the Viceroy's certificate for his service in connection with the earthquake. Lance Naik Gurdit Sing was awarded the Commander-in-Chief's certificate. The envelope illustration shows a section of the Indian Signal Corps with mule-pack wireless on the march on the North West frontier.

The envelope also bears the Royal Corps of Signals badge in recognition of the strong part played in the Indian Signal Corps by British Officers and NCO's of Royal Signals on attachment. In pre 1939 India, up to a third of the Corps served in India.

Acknowledgements to "The History of the Royal Corps of Signals" Volume 1, RFH Nalder.