Canal Zoners

10 RAILWAY SQUADRON - 1953-56

As Remembered By Brian Edwards

I am Sapper 22973174 B. Edwards, better known as “Taffy”. I was a Regular in the Royal Engineers between 1953 – 1956 and started my training at Worcester, then onto Aldershot and then to Longmoor Railway in Hampshire where I was made up to Corporal for the journey to Egypt – only for a few weeks though as it was then back to Sapper.

Having failed my driving test at Gibraltar Barracks in Aldershot, I was trained as a Plate-layer in Longmoor. Longmoor was a great camp and I remember we also got paid as an “Extra” in the film Bwani Junction starring Ava Gardner.

Then it was out to Fanara with our Base Camp being 10 Railway Sqdn. We spent a lot of time at other camps working on the railway lines, TEK, Suez, El Kirsh to name a few and we were rather like nomads, always on the move. Cpl Kelly was our “Ganger” and I only remember a few of the other names now. I do remember that before we pulled out of the Canal Zone we put 42 Loco’s in a shed at TEK and then removed all the tracks outside.

I returned to the UK in October 1955 where I then served with 1 Railway Home Group, the camps being Bicester, Melton Mowbray, Kineton, Leamington Spa, Derby,Uttoxeter and Nottingham – some camps I only spent a week in. Upon discharge, I was a miner once again back in my home town of Tonyrefali. I emigrated to South Africa in 1964 where I served in the Fire Service, returning to the UK in 1997.

16 Railway Home Group, Longmuir Camp 1954 - Plate Laying Course