LYCOS RETRIEVER 
Suez Canal: Suez Canal Zone
built 622 days ago
Did you know the suez canal was man made? Here’s some historic facts on it. Also, did you know that before the opening, some transport was conducted by offloading ships and carrying the cargo overland between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea? The canal opened to traffic on November 17, 1869. Also, in 1888 the convention of constantinople declared that the canal is a neutral zone under protection of the british, after the british troops moved in to protect the suez canal in 1882. In 1951, Egypt regected the treaty, and by 1954 the United Kingdom agreed to pull out. The result of the damage and sunken ships, the suez canal was closed until April 1957.
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At sunset on Monday, 29 October 1956, Israel launched a massive offensive across the Sinai Desert as the French and British moved to occupy the Suez Canal Zone. The three forces worked in close coordination in accordance with a plan agreed at a secret meeting held a few days earlier in the Paris suburb of Sèvres. Commentators agree that this invasion, inclusive of the motives for waging it, the international events that accompanied it, and its immediate aftermath, marked a major turning point in the history of the region. Its 50th anniversary falls only a couple of months after another major regional turning point, last July's Israeli attacks on Lebanon.
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For some years veterans expressed a wish for a medal to be instituted retrospectively for service in the Suez Canal Zone during the early 1950s. This proposal resulted in a number of comprehensive reviews which were carried out during the 1990s on behalf of the MOD by the Army Historical Branch. Although the surviving records, the vast majority of which had been sent to the Public Record Office at Kew for retention and release to the public domain, were incomplete, there was evidence that General Sir Brian Robertson, the Commander in Chief of the Middle East Land Forces at the time, had made a tentative enquiry about the possibility of a campaign medal in 1952. It was assumed that the matter was discussed by members of the Army Council, out of committee, and they decided that there was no case to justify a medal at that time.
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The qualfying period is 30 days or more continuous service in the Suez Canal Zone between 16 October 1951 and 19 October 1954. If qualifying service was brought to an end before the completion of 30 days on account of death, wounding or other disability due to operational service, the reduced period of service will be sufficient qualification. The grant of a British Honour, Decoration or Medal of the status of the BEM or above, or a Queen's Commendation for Brave Conduct, for service in the Suez Canal Zone between 16 October 1951 and 19 October 1954 will ... qualify the recipient for the GSM with Clasp. Service at sea will not count, nor will time spent in the Canal Zone on official visits, inspections etc, by personnel based elsewhere.
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Egyptian nationalists demanded repeatedly that Great Britain evacuate the Suez Canal Zone, and in 1954 the two countries signed a 7-year agreement that superseded the 1936 treaty and provided for the gradual withdrawal of all British troops from the zone. By June 1956 all British troops had departed, and Egypt took over the British installations.
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Suez Canal Zone