Riots and Bed Bugs
The editors of this website recently received an e-mail from Niclas Williams detailing his mother's recollections of what happened to them during, and just after the riots by an Egyptian mob in Arashia during the Suez Canal Zone Emergency in 1951. The account only goes to prove what we have said all along, the wives who accompanied their husbands to the Canal Zone often showed tremendous courage when faced with situations similar to those faced by Marian Williams, wife of the then Battery Sgt Major Owen E Williams, 71st H.A.A. Royal Artillery. In February 1951, his wife Marian and their 10-month-old daughter Dorcas, joined Battery Sergeant Major Williams. The Regiment was then stationed in Fayid, Egypt. They had not gained enough points to qualify for married quarters and so lived in a ground floor flat in Arashia. An Egyptian shoemaker contracted to the British Army in Moascar owned the block of four flats. The remaining three flats were also let to Army personnel and they became targets for looters in the riots of October 16th, 1951.
Here is Mrs William's story.
"My husband left as usual that Tuesday morning by army truck for the camp at Fayid. Before he left, he warned me that there might be some demonstrations and advised me to stay indoors. It was 5.30am and he assured me he would be back at 2pm. At 10.30am, I heard a commotion at the front of the flats. I peered through the shutters of the lounge window and saw a crowd of people. They were mostly young Egyptians - both men and women. I ran quickly to lock the front door, and moments later a stone crashed through the glass panel, then a hand snaked through to open the lock. I turned to grab my daughter Dorcas and fled to the bathroom, locking that door behind me.
There was a terrific noise and I could hear furniture being thrown around. Dorcas was very upset by now and I was frightened that they would hear her in the next room. I turned on the bath tap and squirted the water around to try and distract her. Just then, the glass in the bathroom door crashed in and someone reached inside to unlock it. I barged past clutching Dorcas tightly and met a crowd of around fifty people. They were carrying all our belongings into the street but I didn't even think about trying to stop them. I shouted at them 'Don't you hurt my baby!' and ran through them into the street where they had built a large bonfire. Our furniture and clothes were being thrown on the fire, yet several Egyptian policemen stood idly watching.
Luckily, I spotted an elderly Egyptian greengrocer who I knew. He was stood at the side of the crowd, watching. I ran over and asked him to help me find some English people and he led me to a nearby block of flats. We went up to the third floor where he indicated that I should knock and announce that I was English. An Army officer opened the door. (It turned out that he had only arrived the Saturday before). There were already several British families crowded in the flat and they had barricaded the door. After a while, a Regiment of the Lancashire Fusiliers arrived and dispersed the rioters and we felt safe enough to go out on the balcony to see the damage that had been done.
Eventually, my husband, Owen, found us and we all went to a Transit Camp. We were given a meal there and a bed. Although there were washrooms available, we didn't have any towels or toiletries. We were unable to wash or change for the next 36 hours until those people that had not been looted rallied round with supplies. The three of us then left the transit camp to stay with friends at Fayid. Owen and I decided that it would be better for me to take Dorcas back to England, while Owen stayed on to finish his 3-year tour of duty.
On the 10th of November, we travelled to Port Said on an armoured bus, ready to board the Chorlton Star, due to sail home the next day. Accommodation was provided that night at a former Egyptian holiday camp where we were given blankets and pillows and taken to our tents. I could see that the beds were alive with bed bugs and flatly refused to sleep there. I went to the Adjutant who pointed out that he had 804 women and children in the camp and nowhere else he could put us up. I told him that I would either sleep on the office floor or he could send me back to Fayid. Eventually, he found a room with a cot and a bed for us.
The next morning, most of the people boarding the ship were covered in bites from the bed bugs. Owen was later furious to find that he had been issued with a bill for bedding that was deemed lost because I had refused to handle it. Needles to say, he refused to pay and demanded an apology for issuing me with contaminated bedding! A year later, the government gave us a cheque for £300. It may have bought a lot then, but it was only a fraction of what we had lost. We had bought all the furniture in our flat, hoping to sell it when we got married quarters. After the riot, all we had in the world were the clothes that we were wearing."
Editors Footnote:
This statement by the wife
of a British serviceman shows how highly dangerous situations, carried
out by trained terrorists or whipped up frenzied mobs, were commonplace
during the Emergency in the Canal Zone 1951-1954, and everyone was targeted,
men, women and children (in one case, a Nun.) When we give thought
to the recommendation that a medal be awarded to all Service personnel
who served in this theatre during that period in our history, utmost consideration
should be given to the part played by the servicemen's wives who served
side by side with their men folk and endured as much, and sometimes more,
of the troubles. In all fairness they also should receive a medal.
Unfortunately this will never come to pass, more is the pity. God
bless them all.
Major Owen Emlyn Williams,
MBE. MM., eventually retired from the army and worked as Chief Executive
for the Army Cadet Force for a number of years. After his retirement,
he continued to live in Solihull until he passed away on 8th April 1989,
leaving his widow Marian, their daughter Dorcas, and their sons Jeremy,
Christopher and Niclas. Marian Catherine Williams now lives near
Telford and can be contacted via email through her family at: nic.Williams@tinyworld.co.uk
Our thanks to Marian and
Niclas.
Aye, Jock
Marrs and Dick Woolley.
October 2003.
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