2nd Btn GRENADIER GUARDS 1953-55
As Remembered By James A. Hill
We sailed from England on a cold winter's day in the first week of March 1953 bound for the Middle East. The sea journey had been interesting but a lot of men were sick and, because I was not one of those, I had lots of MI room duties to attend to. These duties consisted of working in the Medical Room, cleaning up after everyone and looking after the general welfare of the troops. The sea was so rough that the toilets in the scuppers were back filling and as a result of this I was kept fairly busy. I should have reported sick myself then perhaps I might have avoided some of those awful messy duties, however someone had to do it and the time on board ship passed quickly. Regular drill sessions and physical training exercises were conducted on the deck to make sure that the troops maintained a good level of physical fitness. After breathing the lovely fresh air on board ship after a month at sea we finally arrived in Egypt on the 27th March 1954. After our sea voyage the difference was quite noticeable after we had landed at Port Said.
We took our first breaths of the inescapable musky fragrance of the desert; some people I know would have call it a stink of course. It was an effluvium made up of camel's odorous, dust and dirt gathered together over a long period of time. As soon as the ship had docked it was surrounded by Bumboat men, selling tarbooshes, photo albums, baskets and beads and a large variety of other really unnecessary items. The 2nd Battalion disembarked at Port Said under the command of Lt Col C Earle DSO OBE, the Senior Major, Major the Hon G.N.C. Wignam MC, the Adjutant Capt RMO de la Hey, Quartermaster Lieutenant (QM) C Hackett and the RSM AG Everett. They were met at the docks and welcomed by Brigadiers GC Gordon Lennox and CMF Deakin. It was not long before we were formed up and marched off to board our train bound for Fayid.
The train was very old with hard wooden uncomfortable seats and we had to travel on these for a couple of hours or more. The windows had no frame and were open to the outside air. The toilets were really something to be remembered consisting of a hole in the floor where one had to squat down. There was a small sink about 6" in diameter with no taps just water press on the wall, but no paper supplied. We were advised not to put our arms on the windowsills because when you go through stations you might lose your wristwatch etc. We were told that it was nothing to have the straps of your watch slashed off with a razor blade whilst your hand was on the sill. The Commanding Officer Lt/Col C Earle DSO OBE gave us all a lecture and warned us of all the fangers of fraternising tood much with the locals. Two hours soon passed and we arrived at our destination. After detraining we were met by and marched behind the Corps of Drums of the Irish Guards. It was quite a long march but we finally arrived at St. Pierre Camp in Fayid. This camp was situated next door to the Troops of Mauritius who could be heard for some considerable distance when they challenged people trying to enter their Guard Gate. This posting was called MELF (Middle East Land Forces) 27 denoting the 1st Infantry Division. Our Division Sign was a white triangle with red edges, and this denoted the 1st Guards Infantry Division Middle East. We arrived in Egypt during the Presidency of general Mohammed Neguib who had ousted King Farouk from the throne of Egypt on the 26th July 1952. King Farouk then abdicated in favour of his seven month old son, Prince Ahmed-Fuad on this date after the military Coup D'etat.
After settling in we were allocated our tents, four men to a tent that were then set up on a concrete slab and we settled down to making our stay a good one. The usual duties were allocated and some of us were given a paintbrush to whiten the company lines etc. There always seemed to be plenty of stones to paint in army camps and St. Pierre was in the front line when these were issued out it seemed. One of the well-known sayings in the Army was "if it moves salute it, if it does not, paint it".
One of my first memorable duties as a corporal was to collect gravel to make the concrete bases for our four men tents. we had borrowed a few tons from the Irish guards who were stationed a few hundred yards south of us near the village of Fayid. I was put in charge of a group of South African Pioneer Corps, native soldiers who suppled the manual labour and the Grenadiers had to supply the supervision. I was given a book containing English and Swahili translations and my job was to supervise the native NCO's who spoke no English. It did not take me long to get used to this dialect and within a couple of days I had learned the basics and very soon was quite conversant with the native labour. This project consisted of setting up great big sieves standing at an angle, lining them up and getting the soldiers to shovel the sand from the desert terrain through the sieves. The duty was hot and dusty but very interesting and lasted for a period of two weeks for each NCO in charge. Once I had mastered the method of handling and treating this different type of soldier from another country, real progress was made. After talking with their NCO's, I found that music was part of their life and they would sing about their families and everything appertaining to it. The music was quite different but had a rhythm and the workers seemed to enjoy working to the sound. I was told by my Commanding Officer that I had managed to extract more gravel and sand from them than any of the other NCO's that had been delegated this duty. I enjoyed doing it and as a result learned a lot about life on the other side of the world.
It did not take us long to settle down to life in the Middle East and soon we had constructed small gardens around our tent bases. We planted some watermelons and kept them alive by using our washing up water. This did not seem to affect their taste and we never foamed at the mouth when eating the finished product. To make them grow larger and more quickly we would thread strands of wool dipped in sugar through the stalks. This we learned from the locals who were past masters. This method directed the nourishment to the melon body without it having to pass through the soil first.
In Egypt we were responsible for looking after our own laundry but most of us would get the Egyptians to do it. They did an excellent job and needed the money, so everyone benefited. It was an education to see them using the starch on our khaki drill uniforms. They used to fill their mouths up with the starchy liquid then spit it out like a spray gun onto our uniforms. Life carried on and we did our share of drills, fatigues and exercises in the desert surrounds with our tanks and guns. On a couple of occasions some of our tents were blown away in a sandstorm but we soon got used to this.
One of our numerous duties was to look after this section of the Suez Canal plus the water filtration plant and other installations along the Canal. The largest and most important of these being 14 BOD situated at TEK. This particular depot had a 28 mile barbed wire outer perimeter surrounded by watchtowers, dogs, searchlights and anti-personnel mines. Despite these protective methods however equipment was still stolen by the local theives. This particular guard duty took 280 sentries, day and night, so the duties came around fairly quickly. Some Egyptians were professional pilferers and used to go nealy naked and grease their bodies to make it easier to crawl into the compound. The mines used to go off from time to time, set off, we believed by the Piard dogs but not very often with the rogues. Although it was said that these people used to send the dogs in to set the mines off after which they would crawl under the wire to gain access to the stores.
About 300 Guardsmen were sent to Port Said to help unload ships at one time, but I missed out on this. I was a member of Support Company and we had the big guns and tanks. The duty rifle companies were perhaps less able to get away as often as we would with our heavy vehicle. On occasions we would go on exercise with the big anti-tank guns and it was whilst on one of these that I nearly got shot. When we zeroed the big 17 pounder guns in the desert we would fix a Bren gun on the barrel of the 17 pounder, bolt it down and then zero it on the target. Then, using the sights of the Bren gun, we would fire a series of shots from this gun onto the target, and this would zero the big gun at the same time. I was sent down the range to change the target, the Bren gun having been put on safe. I had just picked up the old target in front of the anti-tank gun when the gun went off shooting that target out of my hand. The Bren had apparently been left cocked and then suddenly went off. The Officer was quite concerned and admonished the gun aimer for his lack of attention. I cannot say that I was overwhelmed with joy either for I was lucky to get away with my life that day. I had been a Corporal for some time now and was promoted to L/Sgt early in 1954. I think that this promotion was as a result of my action as a detachment commander in charge of a 17 pounder anti-tank gun in the field. I had stood up to a Brigadier-General when he told me to move my anti-tank gun. I stated why I had placed it in its position, which was to defilade the gun, and crew from the enemies approach, also that only my Platoon Officer was the only person that could move me. I also stated that as my gun was part of a group of six covering a certain area of fire, by moving it this would leave an area undefended. He apparently discussed this with the gun commander and as a result accepted my explanation. It was soon after this that I got my promotion.
I observed my first 'mirage' whilst taking part in an exervice in the desert when we were miles away from the Suez Canal. I saw the perfect shape of a ship upside down in the sky. This strange phenomenon had always plagued or amazed desert travellers including yours truly. It is an optical illusion that apparently occurs when the lower strata of air are at a very different temperature from the higher strata, so that images are seen by reflection and cause illusions such as in my case, an upside down ship in the Suez Canal. We were to experience these strange events quite often during our frequent exercises in the desert and were foreve amazed at the phenomenon.
During my service in the Canal Zone we participated in quite a few schemes and exercises in the desert. We took the opportunity of using the old tank bulks for target practice that had been left there since the end of WWII. We had two members of the REME attached to Support Company of the 2nd Btn Grenadier Guards during our service overseas. These men were seconded to us to undertake major mechanical work on the big guns. It was during one of these exercises that i lost most of my hair, eyebrows and large moustache that I was sporting. When the gun was fired the wind caught the flame from the muzzle and carried it and blew it across my face.. I was the gun commander, was stripped to the waist in the kneeling postion on the right flank of the gun. The flame and wind blew my beret off with my protective goggles and caught the side of my face burning off my eyebrows, hair and moustache and the hair under my armpits. When I was taken back to barracks for treatment, my brother rodney saw me and said "have you got a license to stand in for Boris Karloff?". (Boris was one of the old horror movie actors from the early days of the film industry) not much hope for me to get any sympathy from him it seemed.
During these exercises, as some of the ammunition was quite old, we would have quite a few misfires and the shells would have to be destroyed. So we would then tie them together, set a charge and time delayed fuse and would then take off for the nearest cover and await the big bang. To our surprise, when the dust settled, a crowd of Arabs would appear from the surrounding Wadi's as if from nowhere to collect the scrap brass. There appeared to be no one within miles before this happened but they all seemed to have this ability to be in the right spot at the right time.
Whilst serving in the Canal Zone, the Battalion were involved in numerous other guard duties. We had to patrol the Greek Quarter, The Royal Yacht Sqdn Base, the Warrant Officers & Sergeants Club and many other places of importance. I always remember the time when we were patrolling the Warrant Officers & Sergeants Club and we would have to wake up the Ghaffa who was in charge of the native labour. The Ghaffa would then go around waking the Egyptian workers up. He had a big stick that he used to beat them with and he would shout at them in an unintelligible dialect. We had quite a large area to patrol and this kept us busy for long periods.
I used to like trading with the Bedouins in the desert, and once got some eggs by clucking like a chicken. We were visited by a wandering goup of these people during one of our exercises in the desert. I joined them and sat down in the sand, we all faced one another trying to converse but no one could speak the others language. After I had stated my name, I pointed to myself and then tried to converse saying that I wanted to buy some eggs. There was lots of chattering going on with no one really understanding what the other was saying. After about ten minutes of this I decided to try a different approach and made sounds like a chicken clucking. I drew circles in the sand with my finger, then all of a sudden the group seemed to understand, they rose up like a flight of birds, shouting and waving their arms around. They then handed me 27 tiny bantam eggs and some miniscule tomatoes. These were a bit small but seemed OK, so after a lot of haggling, we eventually agreed on a price. As the Bedouins got up to leave they shouted "Badee Bokra". Not really knowing what it meant I shouted back "ioah" hoping that I had not said the wrong thing. Anyway, the next day practically the whole desert tribe turned up with lots more of these miniscule items. "Badi Bokra" apparently meant "more tomorrow" or something like that, so my one work of Arabic turned out quite well and was well received by our cook. It was nice to have a change of diet for a few days.
I had been ordered to do Life Saving Piquet on the shores of the Lake for two weeks, which was one of the more enjoyable duties at that time. I was kept busy with people who were coming to me with jellyfish stings which i treated with iodine swabs. I remember one man who had these stings over his arms and body and, as soon as I swabbed him, he fainted and dropped to the ground. He soon came to though and appeared to be OK.
The Bitter Lakes were situated about half way between Port Said and Port Tewfik, and were joined both at the Northern and Southern ends of the Canal. The ships used to gather there and wait for the Tugboat and Pilot, which would escort them through the Canal complex to proceed on the second leg of their journey. This duty was very interesting as I could watch the activities taking place on the Canal. It was always a hive of activity with the ships lining up at Lake Timsah to allow northbound vessels to pass. The Pilot would escort these through as they were not allowed to proceed without the Pilot. Swift lateen-rigged feluccas sped by as we waved to the people of many different nationalities who were travelling on the liners. There were always lots of people standing on the decks waving to us.
The usual decrepit donkeys and herds of goats were always passing by with their loads of wood and rushes. The Bedouins used these rushes to make the roofs of the makeshift houses seen dotted around the edge of the old Suez Cairo Road. These temporary houses were made using the 44 gallon drums that had been used for carrying oil and had been left at the side of the old road. The oil had been poured onto the sand and had hardened with the cooler weather overnight and this make a cheap version of a bitumen highway.
The Sweetwater Canal, which was very narrow, ran parallel with the Suez Cairo Road, perhaps only 30ft between them at times. This Canal was not true to its name but was well know for its vile stench and polluted atmosphere. If someone had the misfortune to fall into the Sweetwater Canal, they had to have emergency treatment fairly quickly plus a lot of injections or they would become very ill. I cannot imagine how the Egyptians survived when they drank this stuff, they must have iron-constitutions. I think however that their life expectancy was only a fraction of ours and we were told they only lived to an average of 40 years. When we were engaged on early morning patrols, we would see these people washing, drinking and relieving themselves in the Canal.
We were one of the Regiments who were detailed to perform test on the new rifle called the FN that was being introduced at that time. This new rifle had been designed to replace the old Lee Enfield rifle wingle action bolt type or the .303 as it was called in those days. That rifle was now very much out of date but had served its purpose very well for many years. The FN rifle became the standard issue of NATO and I believe is still in use today under another name with perhaps a few modifications. We were told to drop them in the sand and water, fire them until they got very hot and generally give them some very rough treatment. After a bit of this kind of treatment it was found that the wooden butt had started to char with the heat when put on rapid fire so it was modified on the replacement rifle as a result of our tests.
One of our more strenuous duties was the Moascar cable patrol duty. We had to protect a telephone cable buried just below the surface of the sand stretching for 90 miles. This cable was made of copper and connected the telephones to the security systems between Port Said and the Moascar Garrison. The Egyptians would tie a rope to the cable, hitch it to a camel, and then take off dragging a long length of cable behind them. It was very easy to cut the cable and take off with their loot. It was very valuable for the copper content. This was a very tiring duty as we had to patrol it continuously in the very hot weather, amking constant patrols up and down the line for 24 hours a day.
The Battalion moved from St. Pierre Camp in Fanara, near the Great Bitter Lake - moving our tanks and equipment by Z Craft along the Suez Canal to Golf Course Camp at Port Said, arriving at the end of December 1954. It was during this year that Lt/Col the Hon Fitzalan Howard MC took over the command of the 2nd Btn from Lt/Col C Earle DSO OBE, who left for England in january 1955. The Senior Major at this time was Major AG Way MC. Golf Course Camp in Port Said was not too bad; the toilet systems were a bit primitive though and consisted of a row of wooden boxes with trap doors at the rear of each box. When one was sitting down, there would suddenly be a blast of hot air and an Egyptian would turn up with a horse and cart and start to empty the boxes of their smelly contents onto their carts. The Egyptians apparently used this 'brew' on their vegetable gardens as fertilizer.
In June 1955 our Battalion trooped the colour in Moascar for the Queens Birthday Parade. The CO commanded the parade with Capt PJC Ratcliffe as Adjutant. The Escort Officers were Maj MS Bayley, Capt GC Anderson & 2nd Lt ATW Duncan. No. 2 guard comprised Maj DW Hargreaves, Lt MCG Jeffrey's and 2nd Lt DV Fanshawe.
I left the Grenadiers in 1955 having served five years. My Battalion stayed at Port Said for a few more months then had to leave the Canal Zone as the Treaty between the Governments of Egypt and England had expired. There had been Guardsmen in Egypt since 1882 and, in fact, the 2nd Btn Grenadiers were the first British troops to land in Egypt in 1882 and were the last to leave on the 2nd April 1956 at midnight, not wanting to leave on April Fools Day. They sailed on the SS Devonshire via Malta picking up families from Tripoli and arrived in England for leave and their new Headquarters at Pirbright. They were stationed at Pirbright for a short period then were moved to Windsor Castle taking over from the 1st Battalion. They did not stay long at Windsor before they were off again to another overseas posting in 1956, sailing this time to Cyprus.