CHILDHOOD MEMORIES OF THE CANAL ZONE
As Remembered By Peter Gash
As one gets older, I think all of us have a longing to complete the circles of our life. One of the big problems is that we all too often leave it all too late, by which time those who we knew have passed on or lost memories.
For me the Canal Zone was a happy yet hazy moment. I cannot be sure of any facts, but my memories are like old photos. I spent about a year and a half there and I think I arrived aged five and left aged 6 plus – that would make it 1952/53.
My father was on a posting. He was 2 i/c of the East Lancs Regt (I can be sure he was 2 i/c because he was always bringing up the rear at parades).
How we then got to the Canal Zone I am not sure. We were first in Sudan and I think I got to Khartoum by air (Malta, Benghazi etc.). I do remember it was a converted York bomber because I was horribly sick the whole journey. Those adventures are another story. We stayed in Khartoum, later were in a hill station (Gebeit), got lost in the desert, drove to Port Sudan and so on.
When we arrived in the Canal Zone we lived first in Fayid in a nice house with a loofah tree and a view of the Bitter Lake. We slept on the flat roof mostly with an Egyptian and an armed guard on hand. When that became unsafe we were moved to Moascar. We lived in a modest house (the General and Brigadiers had the posh houses) and I remember I was a bit disappointed because in Khartoum we had a nice colonial house. At the end of the road were tents housing refugees who we were told were Greeks, Lebanese, etc., who had come into the garrison for their safety; we were not allowed to mix with them!
I went to school there and to get
there I climbed our back fence and crossed the playing fields. The NAAFI was
not too far from our school. Our maid was Nema who tried to smuggle us fresh
food but kept getting beaten up by the Egyptian guards for helping the occupiers.
We took her sick baby up to the MO but he could not save him (all kinds of cultural
conflicts as I can only work out now, looking in the mirror). Our cook was Wally
who had a small hole in his skull (he said that he had bad migraines so the
medicine man rammed a red hot nail in his head and he boasted that he never
suffered again!).
We would usually go to the French beach on Lake Timsah. (There were officer’s beaches and other rank’s beaches reflecting the class structure of those times). My mother would drive the small Renault and my father would ride shotgun, me and my sister in the back. We were warned of the danger of driving through Ismailia, but my father was determined not to be stuck in the garrison all the time. On the lake we had a small boat plus outboard and went out to picnic on a few small islands. I tried to build a boat out of old driftwood to try to get across the canal (but that project failed miserably!)
We were evacuated with families from Port Fouad by troopship. I remember it was a hurried departure because everyone was pushing and shoving. I remember Gibraltar because the Spanish sellers in their small boats came to our ship. They wore rags and were barefoot. The harbour was bristling with other navy boats. How have things changed during my lifetime!
We landed in Liverpool – it was raining and cold. One peach cost 1 shilling. Must wear shoes! Freedom lost! From then on I did not belong! I have spent most of my life in Africa thereafter.
My father stayed behind in the Garrison; not sure for how long, but he did get back later and we carried on. We went to other postings. Somewhere in all of this King Farouk got deposed. Maybe that was why we were repatriated? Who knows? – I will not get the time frames right! My sister wrote a letter to King Farouk telling him to release our father (some postal clearing office staff must have had a laugh!)
So that is how I came to love the Canal Zone – except of course the Sweet Water Canal – that was the filthiest stretch of water on earth.
I was thrilled to find your website
– I have, from time to time, been trying to identify landmarks in Moascar
using Google Earth etc etc with limited success. Maybe these memories of mine
will overlap with some other members of The Canal Zoners.