Riots, Rebellions, Gunboats and Peacekeepers Logo

Recently our attention has been drawn to a series of new books, articles and radio and television documentaries on the subjects covered by Britain's Small Wars. Their contents, in many cases, draw extensively on material published on this web site and used without acknowledgment or permission of the copyright holders.

When this site was created and developed, its aim, which remains, was to record those conflicts since 1945 in which British service personnel have been called upon to do their duty, reported as far as possible through the eye-witness accounts of those involved, and to create Honour Rolls, where none existed before, of those who gave their lives in service to their country. As a result this web site has become a valuable historical resource due to the voluntary efforts of our contributors, free from the profit-making needs  of media publishers.

By using Britain's Small Wars copyright material without permission, some authors and publishers are not only taking credit falsely for their work, they are dishonoring British forces and their achievements. While we do not have the resources to 'police' the use of our material nor pursue costly litigation, we usually give permission freely to those who approach us to quote passages from our pages for their use. In fact, they honor us by doing so. All we request is that they acknowledge the fact in their published work.

THE SENTRY

Thus stands the British soldier of today, yesterday, and tomorrow. It seems to have become a tradition that the British Army must always be over stretched. One man has therefore to suffice in place of two, and a battalion is assigned a commitment broad enough for a brigade. Such has been the recurring pattern over the past forty years. Officers and men have accepted it, without complaint. They would appear to be at their happiest when thrust into some god forsaken place in the world and presented with a task of awesome dimensions, that some politician somewhere has blundered and called for help. The lone sentry at the crossroads of Empire seems well aware of this great tradition and we can confidently leave the reputations and traditions of the British Army in his keeping.
James Robinson

In this chapter we will try to cover some of the little known and mostly unheard of small conflicts that British forces have been involved in since the end of W.W.II. Some were successful operations to put down rebellions while others tell the story of British forces quelling riots in various parts of the old Empire. Often Britain has been asked by her former members of the Empire for help and British troops have been sent to hot spots throughout the world, sometimes not to the knowledge of the British public.

British troops have also been involved in peacekeeping operations since the end of W.W.II. This particular type of operation was sometimes the hardest to do. There are many of these bush fire wars to cover and information is sometimes scarce so please bear with us. It is not our intention to ignore any of these operations. We would very much like to hear from any one who was evolved in any of these operations.

Recommended books

Diver by Tony Groom

By Rowland White
Seafarer Books £18.99 (hb)

HMS Ark Royal, Britain's Last Top Guns and the Untold Story of Their Most Dramatic Mission.

NEW

Batangas
by Ted Sparrow

PHILIPPINES COUPS PART 1
by Ted Sparrow

THE ATTEMPT OF DECEMBER 1989
by Ted Sparrow

THE CAGAYAN REBELLION March 1990
by Ted Sparrow

H.M.S. Amethyst 1949
"Under heavy fire, am aground"
H.M.S. Amethyst  1949

45 take on the Israelis
45 take on the  Israelis
Aqaba 1949

Lawrence's Legacy
Lawrence's Legacy
Arabia 1948 -59

The Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove
The Iron Fist in a Velvet Glove
The Caribbean 1948-1969

Green Mountain
Green Mountain
Muscat and Oman 1957-59

Warlike Noises
Warlike Noises
British Honduras Belize

Unexpected Allies
Unexpected Allies
Java 1945-1946

Kuwait-The first crisis 1961
Kuwait
The first crisis 1961

Hong Kong Riots
Hong Kong Riots
1956, 1966 and 1967

The Cod Wars
The Cod Wars

African Mutinies - Tanganyika 1964
African Mutinies
Tanganyika 1964

Rhodesia - Operation Agila 1979 to 1980
Rhodesia
Operation Agila 1979 to 1980

Bomb Alert in the Atlantic
Bomb Alert in 
the Atlantic

Iranian Embassy Assault
Iranian Embassy 
Assault

Brave Men Indeed!
Brave Men Indeed!
Bomb Disposal since 1945

Sirius Business - Detachment in the West Indies.
Sirius Business
Detachment in the West Indies.

Operation Safe Haven
Operation Safe Haven
Northern Iraq 1991.

Threat of Invasion Gan
Threat of Invasion Gan 
By Brian Wilmer RAF. 

Sirius Business II
Sirius Business II
Cod Wars

The Cameroon Involvement
The Cameroon Involvement
Alan Parkinson of King's Own Royal Border Regiment

Splashdown on the Equator
Splashdown on the Equator
John Cooper, RAF, Gan in 1960.

Naval Party 2482
Naval Party 2482
Java 1945-1946
By Ted Bates ex Telegraphist 

UNFICYP
UNFICYP
The United Nations 
Force In Cyprus

Lebanon 1982-84
Lebanon 
1982-84

Africa Calls
Africa Calls
A British Soldier 

UK Forces in the Congo
UK Forces in the Congo

Dar es Salaam 1964
Dar es Salaam 1964
by John Lloyd, Maj RM

East Timor 1999
East Timor 1999

The Solomons Islands 1998-2003
The Solomons Islands
1998-2003

Battling the Shifta
Battling the Shifta
Eritrea 1948-1951

Pink Elephants on the road to Baghdad
Pink Elephants on the road to Baghdad
Iraq 1946 By Vic Smith

Allied Harvest
Allied Harvest
Adriatic Sea 1999

Operation Essential Harvest
Operation Essential Harvest
Macedonia 2001

The Allied Occupation of Japan
The Allied Occupation of Japan

A Greek Tragedy
A Greek Tragedy
UK forces in Greece
Supporting Government forces 
during the civil war

The Allied Occupation of Italy
The Allied Occupation of Italy

Greek Civil War Memories
Greek Civil War Memories
Seeking information by Adam Dyster

1988 1989 1st Bn Irish Guards. North Belize Battle group.
1988 1989 1st Bn Irish Guards. North Belize Battle group.
A six month tour of duty by Danny Ricco.

HMS Concord: Our part in the Yangtse Incident
HMS Concord: Our part in the Yangtse Incident
Derek Hodgson HMS Concord 1948/50

Zanzibar Revolution 1964

The Defence of Jordan - 1958: Operation Fortitude

Four ships logo
Closure to the "Yangtze Incident"

UKMAMS logo

UNITED KINGDOM 
MOBILE AIR MOVEMENTS
SQUADRON
UKMAMS 

Operations and Disaster Relief
Please visit the UKMAMS web site for more information on Disaster Relief

Operation Agila logo
Rhodesia 1979 to 1980

Other events we shall try to cover in this chapter in the future

Gold Coast Riots 1948

Nyasaland (Malawi) Riots 1959

Swaziland 1963

Zanzibar 1963

British Guiana, civil unrest 1964

Mauritius 1965

Mauritius 1968

Gibraltar, the Spanish blockade

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