Suez Canal Zone Driving  -  Its Many Dangers

 We would like to thank Patricia Jezzard for forwarding to us the following accident reports discovered amongst her late father's  (Sgt G A Jezzard SIB/RMP) papers. It covers two days in the lives of four Drivers from 39 Coy RASC (Heavy General Transport) Kandahar Camp, Fanara in the Suez Canal Zone, and is based on Accident Reports submitted to #2 Section, Special Investigation Branch, Royal Military Police, Suez Detachment.  The RMP NCOs involved were Sgt G A Jezzard SIB/RNP, and Sgt L Swain SIB/RMP.  The RASC drivers involved were:

T/22202622   Cpl G L Reed
T/22494253  Dvr A Horton, HQ Platoon
T/22469402  Dvr N Horton   ‘C’ Platoon
T/22444194  Dvr C Thornton ‘C’ Platoon

On Sunday 25th November 1951.  At about 18:00 Hrs Cpl Reed left 39 Company Unit lines at Fanara in order to convey a spare wheel to one of his unit vehicles which had broken down on the Treaty Road about two miles to the North of Suez.  Cpl Reed states, I travelled in a 10 ton Leyland Vehicle, Number 5864884, and was accompanied by Driver A Horton, Driver N Horton, and Driver C Thornton.  All three drivers were armed with Sten Machine Carbines, I did not carry a weapon.  We reached the vehicle which had broken down and after it was repaired (i.e. after changing the wheel) drove it to the Cold Storage Depot at Ataka. At about 22:45 hrs we left the Cold Storage Depot leaving the other vehicle to be unloaded.  We travelled along the road towards the Suez Oil Refineries.

As we were passing the Refineries at a point about half a mile from where the road turns to the left, I saw 3 civilian buses coming towards us.  These three buses did not dip their lights, and the lights on the last bus were so bright that they blinded me and caused me to run off the road.  My vehicle bogged down in the soft sand. I decided to go back to the Cold Storage Depot on foot for assistance and set out with Driver A Horton.  Driver C Thornton and N Horton were left to guard the vehicle.  We reached a point on the road about 500 yards from the Cold Storage Depot, when we saw a car approaching from the direction of Ataka. The car was travelling about 30-40 mph and as it drew level with us two shots were fired in our direction from within the car.  One of those bullets struck me high on the right buttock but it did not knock me down.  Driver A Horton was going to open fire on the car, which by then was 150 yards away, I considered it a waste of ammunition and could bring out the (untrustworthy) Egyptian Police who may be patrolling nearby.

Meanwhile Drivers C Thornton and N Horton patrolled the area around the disabled vehicle, and at about 00:30 hrs Driver C Thornton stated he heard the sound of an explosion and saw a flash on the ground at the nearside the vehicle cab.  Upon inspection I saw a hole about two feet deep, three of four feet from the vehicle cab. I saw no signs of movements in the area and shortly afterwards heard the sounds of shots being fired.  The sound appeared to come from the direction of the Secony Nae Vacuum Company.

An Army ambulance approached the scene approximately ten minutes later and Drivers N Horton and I travelled in it to the Cold Storage Depot.  Upon arrival I was informed that Cpl Reed had been shot.  On the morning of 26th November 1951 I inspected the Leyland vehicle 5864884, and saw a hole about 9" x 12" in the back of the vehicle near the cab.  The driver’s window in the cab was completely blown out.  I did not fire any rounds from my Sten Machine Carbine while guarding the vehicle, and I didn't hear Driver C Horton fire any.  After being shot Cpl Reed accompanied by Driver A Horton went to the Cold Storage depot and on arrival they reported the two incidents involving the vehicle and Cpl Reed's wounding to the Officer Commanding.  Cpl Reed's wound was dressed and an ambulance later came and took him to the Station Hospital in Suez.  The following is the medical report covering the Hospitalisation and the treatment of the wound of Cpl G L Reed RASC.

This incident involving 4 RASC Drivers was one of many, something that could happen to anyone driving on the roads in the Suez Canal Zone in the early 50s. Driving any Military vehicle be it a Motor Cycle, Jeep, Land Rover, 3 Ton Bedford QL and OY etc, obstacles on the road were common, land mines (anti-tank and/or anti personnel) and explosives were disguised a Camel dung. Jeeps and Land Rovers had bars welded to the front of the vehicle to prevent decapitation of the driver by a rope or wire stretched across the road, Despatch Riders of course were completely at the mercy of this kind of terrorism.  The wide use of vehicles
by the Egyptians to force British Military vehicles off the road proved to be one of the greatest hazards faced by drivers and were classed as accidents by the British Military.  How many of these so-called ‘accidents’ resulted in the deaths and injury of drivers and/or passengers we will never be know.  We do know that the RASC lost 40 Soldiers, mostly Drivers, during the Emergency of 51-54.  The RAF and the Bus Services also lost men to both sniping and accidents.  These RMP reports show that what we suspected, i.e. the fact that Egyptian terrorists were using vehicles as weapons was indeed widespread, and occurred on an almost daily basis somewhere in the Suez Canal Zone.  We at this website will continue to publish these reports as they come in.

Aye, Jock Marrs and Richard (Dick) Woolley

The incident was reported to the MT officer on arriving back at camp.  He asked my escort and myself a few questions, checked we had suffered no physical harm and the vehicle was not damaged, entered a report in the section logbook and informed us that: “It is a regular occurrence throughout the zone and drivers have to be continually aware that such things could happen.”  I heard nothing more official about the incident. After this incident, every civilian lorry I saw on the road was treated with suspicion, it was always at the back of my mind that a similar occurrence could happen again at any time, with a high possibility the result could be far
more serious.

Another incident happened a few months later, driving a Land Rover on the road between Moascar and TEK a civilian lorry coming from the opposite direction steered toward me with the obvious intention. It was fortunate that at this point there was a stretch of open hard sand onto which I was able to swerve and no damage was done.  In this instance my armed escort was a young clerk who had only been in the Zone a few weeks and I don’t think he had been off camp limits before.  He was physically sick and shaking like a leaf when he realised what had happened.  I don’t think he went on escort duties again.  I consider myself very
lucky, many other drivers suffered much more than I did.
 

 Richard (Dick) Woolley.