1951-53


Under the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, Britain had a right to maintain a garrison in the Canal Zone of Egypt, and they wished to retain this right in order to secure access to the Suez Canal and to protect British citizens in Egypt. The treaty was due to be reviewed in 1956. With the rise of nationalism many Egyptians felt that they needn’t tolerate foreign troops on their soil and so the Egyptian Government abrogated the treaty in 1951. From then on British troops were at instant operational readiness and were subjected to acts of violence and terrorism, and massive reinforcements were drafted in.
 
The 1st Battalion arrived in Tripoli from Palestine in June 1948, and for the next two years they were part of the garrison there. They handed over to the 3rd Battalion in November 1950 and returned to the UK.
 
The 3rd Battalion remained in Tripoli as garrison troops until November 1951 when they went sent to the Canal Zone with the rest of 1st Guards Brigade.
 
Meanwhile, the 1st Battalion were in Windsor when after less than a year in the UK they were sent to the Canal Zone with 32nd Guards Brigade. They arrived in Cyprus at the end of November 1951 and they remained there for the next two and a half months. In mid-January 1952, there was serious rioting which resulted in a number of deaths and injuries amongst Europeans, and in February they crossed to Port Said one company at a time.
 
Initially they went to Tel-el-Kebir where they briefly met up with the 3rd Battalion. They then moved to El Ballah where they remained for much of the next 18 months.
 
Life for both battalions followed a similar routine of guards and patrols. As with Palestine much of it was mundane and tedious, but there were numerous incidents involving attacks, rioting and snipers. There were also battalion, brigade and divisional exercises. Accommodation was mainly tented and all ranks suffered greatly from the heat and flies.
 
Both battalions sent detachments of over 100 men back to the UK for the coronation in June 1953, and the 3rd Battalion had a company detached to Aquaba in Jordan between October 1952 and August 1953. Their task was to guard an airfield and provide a buffer zone between the Arabs at Aquaba and the Jews in Eilat.
 
The 1st Battalion returned to the UK in September 1953, and the 3rd Battalion in December.
 
In 1956, things came to a head when the Egyptian leader, Colonel Nasser, nationalised the Suez Canal. Britain and France launched an airborne and seaborne assault on Egypt. Several Coldstreamers landed with the Guards Independent Parachute Company. Despite the assault being a great success, international pressure led by the Americans forced a withdrawl.
 
During the build-up to the crisis both the 2nd and 3rd Battalions were mobilised and reservists were called up. The battalions’ vehicles were loaded onto landing ships and sailed as far as Malta, but due to the forced withdrawl, neither battalion actually deployed.