Alan Lydiat Durst ARA (1883–1970) was a British sculptor and wood carver and member of the London Group[1] of artists.

[6] In 1913 he enrolled at the London County Council (LCC) Central School of Arts and Crafts As part of his studies Durst visited Chartres in early 1914.

He went in fact to study stained glass windows but in his private papers held at Tate Britain Archive he explained that he was so taken with the magnificence of the statuary of Chartres Cathedral that he determined to pursue sculpture as a career.

He was promoted to lieutenant on 1 July 1902,[8] and served until 1913 when he was placed on the "Retired List" and began his studies at the School of Art.

[6] George Pace, an English architect who worked with Dunst wrote of his philosophical approach towards sculpting: In 1964 when he had finished carving seven statues for the upper part of Peterborough Cathedral he told me that in his early days when he wanted to learn “direct carving” he found that the art schools of the day could only teach him modelling; for it was still the fashion for sculptors to make models which were then translated into stone or marble by technicians using pointers and masons' skills.