The photo shows what was its HQ.
On
5th November 1956 Britain and France invaded Egypt in what
became known as the Suez Crisis. The Iraqi Government then had Nuri
al-Said as Prime Minister and were under British influence having
signed the Baghdad Pact in 1955. Immediately riots broke out against
the Suez invasion in areas such as Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, Najaf, Kafu
and Hilla. These could be seen as triggers which eventually led to
the Iraqi Revolution of 1958 under Qasim.
At
the time of the outbreak of the unrest I was in Iraq. I had
undertaken the bulk of my National Service in the Royal Air Force at
a Movements Unit in Basra. But as I was due to be demobbed I had been
moved to the RAF camp at Habbaniya to await a plane to take me back
to Britain. So I did not directly experience the unrest, being stuck
in the camp.
But
on 5th November a flight in front of mine set of from
Habbaniya to Cyprus on the first leg of its journey back to Britain.
But as it was approaching a fighter base in Syria permission was
withdrawn for it to fly over that country. So it had to double back
to Habbaniya.
Whilst
having a meal in Habbaniya I listened to the BBC News over the loud
speakers telling us that there were no British troops in Iraq ! Plans
were then made, however, for RAF flights to and from Iraq to be made
via Ankara in Turkey. And I was given a place on the first of these.
Although we were intercepted by Turkish fighters who made signs to us
that we would be shot down if we did not return to Iraq. Luckily they
must have received radio information confirming that we had
permission to proceed, as they then flew away.
As
reservists who had completed their National Service were at the time
being called up to help with the fight in Eqypt, I was worried that I
would not be demobbed and be caught up in the conflict. But I only
had clerical experience working with Iraqi State Railways and
Shipping lines. Pen pushers such as myself (filling out Arabic forms
in English) were not what the invasion needed.
Unfortunately,
my life was then taken over by my being demobbed and returning home
to my previous job as a railway clerk. So I never discovered exactly
what turmoil faced my former RAF colleagues at Basra. I had served
there for 20 months and had never experienced any problems whatsoever
from the local community; yet I moved almost daily around areas such
as its railway station, good yards, docks and the Basra town centre.
Then Iraqis worked as clerks and labourers on our camp. But this
peace and tranquility are likely to have changed a great deal after 5
November. I had avoided any problems by the skin of my teeth.
For
what was happening in Iraq at the above time, the following is a
useful source – pages 115 to 117 of “Iraq” by Adeed
Dawisha, Princeton University Press. I refer to the first paperback
version published in 2009.
It
was, however, my experiences in Iraq and the Suez Crisis which drew
me into subsequent political activity. I have since attempted to
make up for my failure to reconnect with RAF Basra personnel at the
time of my demob and now hold a proud certificate of honorary
membership of the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions – who surfaced
in 2003.
For more on Iraq follow the link below
No comments:
Post a Comment