31-10-1956

With full kit bags and little suitcases, we boarded the Bedford Lorries that were to convey us to the railway station on our journey to Aldershot where we had been posted. 

My intake had just completed driver training and I had been classified as a driver B3.

I heard my name called, 5155 Forte?

Yes Sir, I replied.

“Get off the lorry son”, there has been a change of plan and you are going to Dover. 

Loud laughter from my mates greeted the announcement, and there were many ribald comments on my future prospects and they shouted Good Luck and don’t get lost etc. 

Having developed an emotional gear stick, I hid my disappointment well, and jumping off the lorry came to attention in front of my Commanding Officer.

Are you driver Forte 5155 He asked? 

Yes sir, I replied. 

Yes, well, he said there has been a change of posting for you, you are going to Dover Castle, and you must report there by midnight.

Here are your papers, travel warrant etc, and as the train leaves shortly I am going to drive you to the station myself.

With that, we all piled into the land rover and hurtled through Blandford to the station. 

We were in a hurry, hardly stopping for road signs and hurtling blindly around corners we got to the station in record time. 

We all piled out and I was hustled straight onto the station platform and put aboard a waiting train.

I sat down and got my breath, Phew! What was that all about, I wondered?

It was a long slow tedious journey and I was really tired out by the time I arrived in Dover. 

I asked the ticket collector how far Dover Castle was. 

You will need a taxi he replied. 

I got a taxi, which took all my money, now I was skint.

When I got to the castle, I walked straight in and wandered about amid tremendous activity. 

Dover Castle

There were many soldiers and they all had guns, BIG guns. 

There were Boxes, crates, and kit bags piled up everywhere.  Everyone was so busy; no one took any notice of me at all.

Eventually I found a sergeant who was standing in the middle of all this chaos with a clipboard in his hand.  I timidly approached him and stood there until he noticed me.

What can I do for you laddie? He enquired.  Well I am not sure sergeant, I was instructed to report to Dover Castle by This evening and that is all I know. 

Show me your papers he said.  I showed him my Army ID card and travel warrant. 

Well I do not know he said you are not on my list.  You had better get some kip he said. 

He called to a corporal, put this chap in one of the turret rooms will you? let him get some kip. 

Ok sarge, the corporal said, and led me up a round flight of stairs in one of the castle turrets. 

He opened a door and pointing to a camp bed said, there you are mate, get your head down there. With that, he left.

Without getting undressed, I lie down on the bed and immediately fall fast asleep.

What was that? OUCH! Someone was prodding me.

It was a young officer. 

What are you doing here he asked?  I explained who I was.

Well, he said, you are off to Egypt and you are being attached to the York & Lancs Regiment as the Padres batman driver.

The train is at the station waiting to take you to the ship.
Pick up your stuff and follow me.  My mouth was dry, my eyes were red raw, I felt like death warmed up as I staggered down the stairs into his Landrover and we hurtled down the dark empty streets of Dover at 3am on the way to the train station and Egypt.

When we got to the station, I was bundled out of the Landrover and marched onto the platform and I was told to report to Sergeant Kelly.   WOW!

The train was packed full of enormous healthy sunburned soldiers who were without exception all twice my size.  They all carried guns. Guns of every type, some types I had never seen before.

After much pushing and shoving, I managed to find Sergeant Kelly. 
Sergeant Kelly was a very busy man and he briefly told me that I would be Driver batman to the Rev Morton who was on attachment to the York and Lancs regiment and I would meet up with him when we got to Port Said.

1st November 1956.

We embarked on the Motor vessel MV Egidia today.
EGIDIA  (1945)
mv EGIDIA built by Lithgows Port Glasgow,
Yard No 999
Engines by Barclay Curle & Co Ltd Glasgow Last Name: BENHOPE (1962)
Port of Registry: Leith
Propulsion: Doxford oil 2SA 6cy 6800bhp 15 knots
Built: 1945
Ship Type: Cargo Vessel
Tonnage: 6663 grt
Length: 497 feet 2
Breadth: 64 feet 4
Draught: 29 feet 9
Owner History:
Anchor Line Glasgow
1962 Ben Line, Leith
Status: Arrived for Scrapping - 23/07/1972

This is a large vessel with three decks.  It holds both men and machines, which are mostly Bedford RL Lorries, the sort with which I am familiar.

We are billeted in a large hold, one side of which has long tables and benches and the other side is a morass of slung hammocks.  I was told to pick a hammock, thank you I said, this looks like a nice one!  I think that they were all the same really.

The men in the York & Lancs regiment  were very fit and are experienced soldiers, being mostly regular soldiers mainly from the Sheffield area I believe.

So far they have been very kind to me with no outward signs of aggression other than the awkwardness that comes from being 6Ft tall with big muscles from working in the mills, and I just made 5'9" and rather scrawny.

I was invited to join some of them at their table for meals, I found them good company. 
They are fascinated by my way of speaking which compared to their broad Northern accents sounded rather posh so they said, I thought it rather DEVON.

They played three-card brag and I was invited to play, but I explained that I did not have any money nor had I played Brag before. 
I am told not to think anything about it, and they all chip in a couple of bob each to set me up.
I soon learnt the rudiments of brag and to their amazement and mine I made quite a pot of money. 
This attracted a crowd of onlookers who heckled their mates for losing and to everyones great amusement encouraged me to win.
All my companions had well worn uniforms and berets, which fitted them snug and made them look professional, whereas I looked a complete Sprog and everyone knew it.

The next day we entered the Bay of Biscay. There was a force 8 gale blowing. 

The ship rose on the huge waves with the bow 50 or 60 feet in the air and then came crashing down to fling spray high over the bows onto the bridge.

Where was I during this?  I was at the Prow of the ship enjoying the most fantastic ride of a lifetime with another brave soul.  We grasped the cold metal as the ship was hurled high into the air on huge waves.  We clung to the bow as the ship then plunged downwards into the troughs of the waves where huge spumes of sea water flew over our heads onto the decking behind us.

We were there for about half an hour until the Captain sent a man forward asking us to desist, as he feared for our lives.
The fug in the hold was becoming unhealthy and despite the good company, I decided to look for quarters that are more amenable.  The weather improved radically as we left the Bay of biscay and I spent much time sunbathing and sleeping on top of the canvas hoods of the Bedford lorries parked on the top deck.  Here, by foraging I found the nutritional delights of Hard Tack packs stowed in each of the lorries.
With a couple of other lads, we had to start the Lorries each day to warm up the engines and keep them in good shape.
We discovered that some of the older Bedford Lorries in the lower holds of the ship were proving difficult to start.

Example of the older type WW2 Bedford QL
these lorries had clash boxes and you needed skill to avoid rude noises from below.

 The simple answer to this was to remove the air cleaner covers. This revealed the carburettor air intakes, which we covered with cotton waste while turning the engine over. 

The resulting rich mixture enabled the engines to fire up quickly. 
One of the potential risks in the doing this was that the engines could blow back and set the cotton waste on fire, which was what happened.
The lad responsible panicked and threw the cotton waste out of the cab window where it landed on a pile of old cotton waste and a merry blaze started immediately.

One minute there were ten lads in the hold, the next just me and another lad.
We both grabbed fire extinguishers and attacked the blaze.
We had just put the fire out when the Captain arrived.
Instead of being angry at our carelessness, he was full of praise for our bravery in staying to put the fire out.  You have saved my ship he said.  We were heroes!

The ship developed minor engine trouble and put in to Valletta harbour Malta for a day.

Valleta

Boat vendors came out from the town in long Gondola type rowing boats to sell us souvenirs, which we quickly discovered were mostly rubbish, imitation leather and the like.

I began berating them in Italian, calling them all the names under the sun.  One or two of them got a bit upset, so I quickly left before there was a full scale riot.

We finally arrived and disembarked in Port Said on the 5th of November, by which time most of the initial fun and games were over, but we were warned of the dangers of hostile fire from the shore as we disembarked.

We encamped on golf course at the edge of town.  I was placed in an empty hut intended for officers and told to wait for further instructions and the arrival of the Padre.

I pointed out that although I had my kitbag, most of my other gear had been lost in transit and I did not have any money.
I was fobbed off and told `it would all be sorted out in time`.

The heat in Port Said was terrific and each morning I would use the officer’s toilet block and have a shower.  The water was ice cold and my heart used to come up in my chest but I persisted.

Nobody appeared interested in me at all and I did not have any money for shaving kit so I was getting a bit of stubble, when the company sergeant major discovered me.  My God, he began to shout at me? He went on and on, and when he finally calmed down and asked me, Who are you?  What are you doing here?   I was able to explain my circumstances.

He immediately took pity on me and I went with him to the company offices where he arranged for me to be issued with emergency pay, and he promised to find the Padre for me.
Later that day the Padre arrived.  He said he had been looking for me but no one knew where I was.
The padre was the Reverend Captain Morton CF (Church of England).
We got on like a house on fire from the very start. He was not a bit stuck up and we treated each other like friends when we were on our own.

The York & Lancs was the back up regiment and after a few days in a camp on the edge of the Town went forward to El Kab as relief for the Paras.

Meals at El Kab were interesting.  Using army mess tins and cutlery, a decision needed to be made about where to put the food.

I ended up with the large mess tin holding bacon, eggs, bread and butter and porridge. My other mess tin held sweet tea.

The Padre decided to hold a service for the troops in the front line.  We parked the Land rover between some Palm trees and I served mass for him. Which was not too different from what I was used to.  My family back in the UK swore that they saw a film of that Service on TV on the News.

The Padre had us parked up at El Kab for a couple of days.   During this time, I was bitten by a fly or something, because I went to sleep in the back of the land Rover and they were unable to wake me for two days, the medical Officer gave me an injection and said leave me there and let me sleep.
When I awoke, I did not know that I had been out of it for two days, which caused great amusement.
One day, the Padre decided that he wanted to get some Loofahs. Off we went, I thought we were going to Port Said, but no.  He ordered me to stop alongside of the Sweetwater canal, which runs parallel with the Suez Canal.  Why stop here? I enquired; he said he was going to pick his Loofah’s fresh from the hedge.

 A Loofah
It seems that Loofah’s start off as vegetables and when dried become the back scrubbing thing that we love.

With that, he clambered across a little bridge on the Sweetwater canal, climbed the hedge, and started hacking at the bushes.

There was a Latin looking Arab at work clearing the Sweet water canal just where we had stopped.
I got out of the Land Rover and spoke to him.  Che nationale E tu?  Io sono Italiano he replied, then he began to speak in the dialect that I knew so well. 
He told me that he came from a village near Cassino.  I told him about where my family had come from, and he said he knew it well.
Captain Morton returned to the land Rover and asked what I had been talking about with the Arab.  I explained, and he was surprised at the outcome.

Meanwhile, also on the 5th November.

November 5th Additional French (2ème RPC/ 2nd Paratroop Regiment) and British paratroops were dropped over Port-Saïd and Port-Fouad in order to take both towns. British troops seized Gamil - west of Port-Saïd, while French troops seized Port-Fouad and its bridge, which controlled the access of Port-Saïd.

November 6th The next day, first landings from LSDs, LCTs, LSTs and LCMs were carried on. British commandos landed at the east of Port-Saïd and took the town in the afternoon. French marines landed at Port-Fouad. Under the pressure of Americans and Soviets, the ceasefire was ordered on November 7th 1956. French carriers came back to NS Toulon in December. Only the north of the canal was taken by French-British troops.

Generally, the British troops did not mix with the French Parachutiste brigade, (Foreign Legion).

One evening I wandered over to the French encampment and asked around for anybody Italian.  A charming soldier introduced himself and we had quite a chat for an hour or so.
I asked him if he would help me write a letter to my girlfriend Marisa Taddei.  He said he would, and we composed a letter together, which I posted at the next opportunity.  The secret of writing letters to young Italian Maidens consisted of an obtuse courting ritual.  When writing to her you actually addressed the family as a whole, at least that is what he told me, I believed him.  The letter started with Gentilissima Signorina (Gentlest of Maidens)  and ended with, I send you and your Family Many kisses.

When they announced the ceasefire, there was much jubilation and the French put up a giant bonfire and supplied tons of booze to help the celebrations along.  We had quite a party that night with the French leading the way.

The next day the ceasefire was in full swing and the padre said he would not need me anymore and I was to be a driver to the United Nations for a few days to take     U N people up to the Egyptian front lines.  I was issued with a Landrover "Gypsy" which had Balloon tyres for going over loose sand.

When the Security Council voted on a resolution for Israel to withdraw from the Sinai, Britain and France vetoed it. The Security Council transferred its power to the General Assembly using the ‘Uniting For Peace’ principle and the General Assembly of the United Nations called for a cease-fire and on November 5th 1956, it created a United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF). The role of the UNEF was to act as a buffer between the Israelis and the Egyptians thus ensuring that a cease-fire was maintained.

Just one day later, the British and French launched their attack on the Suez. (The United Nations was powerless to stop this attack.)  However, America, lead by Eisenhower, expressed its severe reservations regarding this attack and threatened to stop oil supplies to both Britain and France.

The Suez Canal could not be used to gain oil as it had been shut. Therefore, unless Britain and France did what America wanted, both countries would be starved out of oil.

They had to pull out of the Suez.

On November 16th 1956. 6000 United Nations troops arrived in the Sinai to keep both Israel and Egypt apart. The United Nations troops came from Finland, Canada, Yugoslavia, Denmark, Norway, Brazil, India and Columbia. They carried only light weapons and were ordered only to use them in self-defence. The UNEF remained in the Sinai as a buffer until told to leave by Nasser in 1967. During the time they were there, 89 UNEF troops had been killed. The mission also cost the United Nations over $200 million.

This war lasted only six days and the fighting only stopped when the Security Council ordered a cease-fire.
It also drew up Resolution 242 which they believed would restore peace to the Middle East.

For the next 10 days, I made myself useful as a driver and was rewarded with trips to Port Said, and was able to do some shopping.  I bought my Mother a silver filigree broach and my sister Teresa a tooled leather hand bag.   I treated myself to a skinhead haircut, expertly performed by a Wily Oriental Gentleman with a pair of nail scissors.
To supplement the field kitchen diet of tinned foods I bought Cadbury’s Dairy Milk Chocolate at every opportunity.
The days were full of dry hot sun and I became very dark skinned, without being burnt by the sun.  The nights were Magic, very cold with the clear star filled heavens and shooting stars.A

The Suez Crisis. WHO. WHY. WHEN. WHERE.

 After the state of Israel was created, over 900,000 Palestinian refugees amassed at its borders, claiming rights to the land (calling it Palestine).
Amongst these refugees were groups of guerrillas who constantly started uprisings at the borders.

1950, the West Bank and Jerusalem were incorporated into Jordan, a move which was opposed by other Arabs, because it appeared to undermine the notion of the state of Palestine.
Western nations tried to stabilize the situation by limiting arms supplies to both sides, but the confrontation had progressed too far. 
Tension
1953 Tension between Israel and Jordan worsened from 1953 onwards, with the Arabs becoming increasingly hostile.
In October 1953, 50 people were murdered by Israeli forces.

1955 border clashes began along the Gaza Strip and in the demilitarised zones.
Israel was facing opposition from the Arabs along practically all of its borders, exaggerated by Syrian opposition to the diversion of the River Jordan for irrigation.
The Syrians attacked the Golan Heights in the north- east, and guerillas (the fedayeen) attacked Israel form the Gaza Strip.
1955 In February 1955, the Israelis raided an Egyptian garrison in Gaza, causing the Egyptian military to dramatically increase its armaments.
They purchased large quantities of weapons from Czechoslovakia, which inevitably drew the Middle East into the Cold War, and started the Arab- Israeli arms race.
Western powers immediately refused to sell weapons to the Israelis, and the Arabs were maintaining their blockade of the Suez Canal (contrary to the 1951 UN Security Council Resolution).

Colonel Nasser, ruler of Egypt, was keen to Build the Aswan Dam, in order to irrigate potential farm land, and was approved a loan from the World Bank, providing the USA, Britain and Egypt also put up money.
At this time, however, the Cold War was growing, with Egypt denouncing all Western- backed policies, and the Western powers withdrew their offers of monetary assistance. This sparked a major international crisis, with the West protesting against Nasser's subsequent nationalisation of the Suez Canal.
Intervention

CHRONOLOGICAL DETAILS OF THE ACTION

Britain and France intervened in the situation for numerous political reasons, completely undermining the Charter of the United Nations, in order to try and topple the Egyptian regime.
France put forward a plan whereby Israel invaded Sinai, and then Britain and France called for an end to the fighting, intervening militarily if a cease-fire was not reached.
MAY 1956.  Cyprus established as the main RAF base in the eastern Med after the final withdrawal from the Canal Zone in May 1956.
This pact was confirmed, with the Israelis due to launch the initial attack on October 29th 1956.  

Operation MUSKETEER

Britain, meanwhile, was preparing a battle fleet in Malta, ready for their invasion of Egypt.
On 29th October 1956, as planned, Israeli forces crossed the borders to the Sinai peninsula, advancing quickly on all fronts.
Following this initial invasion, two wars were started- the Israeli- Egyptian conflict, and the Anglo- French occupation of Egypt (which was to be the last British exercise in imperial diplomacy, also getting caught up in the escalating Cold War).
Five days after the first incursion, the Israelis had taken Gaza and other key areas, occupying most of the Sinai Peninsula east of the Suez Canal.
Israel was now working to its own objectives, destroying Egyptian bases in the Sinai desert, in an attempt to take the Gaza Strip. 
 “Proceed with utmost dispatch in support of Operation MUSKETEER”   Was the signal received by the newly commissioned HMS Wakeful tied up in Portsmouth Harbour on 25th October 1956. What and where was Operation MUSKETEEER?  What part could a frigate like Wakeful play?

30th Oct.  Britain's early preparation of a battle fleet allowed them to sail immediately for Egypt and on October 30th, the ultimatum for a cease-fire was presented by France and Britain.
Israel agreed to comply with the terms, but Egypt predictably refused.
The next day, Anglo- French air strikes were launched against Egyptian airfields,

31st Oct.  Anglo/French ultimatum expires.
RAF bombers attack Egyptian airfields
 The French report two US destroyers entering Alexandria and that the carrier group reported the day before was patrolling in the vicinity of 3500N 3000E
1st Nov.  Terse Top Secret signals from C in C Med to Admiral of the US 6th Fleet urging that US forces operate in some other area.
Torquay, (F5),   Whirlwind and Wizard join anti-smuggling patrol off Cyprus to prevent arms reaching EOKA
3rd Nov.
Carrier-based planes attack Egyptian tanks and vehicles in Pyramids area.
US submarines reported operating near 3300N 3000E. 
US personnel were being withdrawn by US Navy from Alexandria and Port Said.
4th Nov continuing until November.  C in C Med and his staff move from Malta to Episkopi in Cyprus
Anglo/French ultimatum to Egypt and Israel to halt the war issued
French Admiral reports meeting a US carrier group in position 3412N 2809E, (north of Egypt).
HMS Ceylon arrives in Cyprus from UK
US submarines instructed by the Commander of the 6th Fleet to remain on the surface
5th Nov
NOVEMBER 5 Th.  On the 5th, paratroopers and sea borne forces landed at Port Said, in preparation to advance down the canal. In total, 22,000 men landed in the Canal Zone - 13,500 British and the rest French.
Also by now, the Israelis had taken the Gaza Strip and most of Sinai. The international community immediately condemned this action, with the UN calling for an instant cease-fire. Britain announced that they would comply, if Israel and Egypt also accepted the agreement
6th Nov
British assault troops land at Port Said beach.
C in C Med warns the invasion force that Soviet Union may intervene imminently.
Port Said captured by British assault troops.
HMG ordered cease fire from 2359.

Helicopters from Ocean and Theseus employed in casualty evacuation after landing 45 RM Commando .
NOVEMBER 6th.  On November 6th, a cease-fire was eventually agreed.  
7th Nov 
Ceasefire
Mail censorship discontinued  
 8th November, under the heading of 'Lessons Learnt', C in C Med's Director of Communications said that the Royal Navy’s Communications Branch was insufficiently manned and equipped to meet the demands of operations such as MUSKETEER.  He quotes failures in ship/shore links particularly between Malta and Tyne, Forth  and Meon.  On the other hand Eagle with its teleprinter radio circuits handled large volumes of traffic with Air Force HQ in Cyprus. 

Cryptography proved to be an almost fatal bottleneck, both in tactical and long-haul communications.  Provisions for SIGINT and radio warfare though were more than adequate and provided extra cover to GCHQ who operated a special encrypted channel from Malta and Cyprus to Force Commanders.

The Chief Staff Officer (Intelligence) said that the supply of intelligence during Operation MUSKETEER appeared to have been reasonably satisfactory but against this it must be remembered that enemy action was negligible.

In a signal to the Chiefs of Staff dated 8th November 1956,  the Allied Commander in Chief  summarised the operation by saying that the build-up at Port Said had gone smoothly and that the next phase would be attempts to clear the Canal.  The army were in full control in Port Said and the RAF were limited to reconnaissance.

And so, almost as soon as it started, Operation MUSKETEER was history. The active units of MUSKETEER were stood down and all that remained was the huge task of re-opening the Suez Canal. There were 22 wrecks in Port Said Harbour alone and uncounted ones in the Canal and the Bitter Lakes.

The British Army decided that they needed me to help them with sorting the Christmas mail in Cyprus and I would leave immidiately! Thank you so much, I thought.

CYPRUS.

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