"The Balloon is going up"
 Sabre-rattling by both British and Egyptian Forces

Are any of you familiar with this expression.   I first heard it in the Office of my OC, when he was addressing the MT officer of 40 Company RASC.  The next day, around the end of October, 1952,  we were on convoy, armed to the teeth, about eighty vehicles in all (Bedford OY's and QL,s), and we struck Camp somewhere west of Ismalia, in the desert, where we stayed for about two and a half weeks, scrimmed up.  I  can vaguely remember a lot of dust in the distance, and having recently arrived in the Canal Zone asked if it was a Sand-storm, but was told that it was patrolling British Tanks.   Overhead flew the occasional  Vampire and Meteor of the RAF.   I thought that we were on a Training Scheme, but with much thought it may have been some form of "Sabre-rattling" by both British and Egyptian Armed Forces.

Shaving in what was left of our breakfast tea in  the morning, our daily supply of water was kept for drinking only.  Breakfast was usually canned sausage, and porridge, and for other meals we had bully beef fried curried, you name it, to this day I hate curry.

At the other times when I heard that expression it always meant extra guard duties, and tightened security around our Camp, daily warning to drivers and DR's when the daily detail lists were handed out, warnings of wire stretched across the road for DR's, and explosives disguised as Camel Dung.

Were we not under the command of the Officers and senior NCO's that we had, casualties would have been much higher. Our training and vigilance is what kept us alive.

John (Jock) Marrs