THERE were no victory parades for the many national servicemen returning from the Suez in the early 1950s.

They thought they had done their duty and carried on with their lives - but there remained, all the same, a longing for recognition for their sacrifices.

Finally, following a lengthy campaign, the Government relented last June and issued a medal for the forgotten veterans of the Suez Campaign.

And this year, North-East members of the Suez Veterans' Association will be taking part in a Remembrance Day parade for the first time in the region.

Former Corporal Bill Lowe, northern representative of the Suez Veterans' Association, who will be leading more than 40 veterans in Sunderland at the weekend, said: "There were many emergencies at the time - in Korea, Malaya and Cyprus.

"But many people forget that over 200,000 national servicemen were in Egypt guarding the Suez canal. We experienced the start of terrorism as it is known today."

Mr Lowe, of West Rainton, near Durham, served in the Royal Army Medical Corps and was in the Suez canal zone from 1954 to 1956 - first at the British military hospital in Fayid and later at El-Ballah.

He said: "As a nurse I saw many unpleasant things. Many soldiers were maimed and they came in with all sorts of mutilations. It was grotesque.

"One of the doctors went off with a trusted Egyptian worker and never came back.

"They found his body riddled with bullets and badly mutilated.

"It happened all the time. It was shocking."

The emergency began in October 1951 when Egypt refused to recognise a treaty on British troop numbers in the strategic canal zone.

Over the next three years, thousands of British soldiers, mainly working-class national servicemen, kept the canal open, facing appalling conditions.

They endured scorpions and dysentery, were subject to mob violence and were victim to ambushes, snipers and throat-slitting Fedayeen.

The death count for the emergency was put at more than 300.

Mr Lowe said: "When we returned we felt we had done our bit and were just glad to be back. But there has always been a longing for that recognition.

"Last year I returned to Egypt where I visited the graves of servicemen - many only 19 years of age or so. It brought home to me the sacrifice they made.

"It is important that future generations are reminded that these young servicemen we left behind never had the chance to get married, have children or do the things I have done in the time since the Suez crisis."

Mr Lowe said even when the Government agreed to issue a medal they did not go to much trouble.

He said: "Instead of minting a new medal they rehashed the general service medal and added a clasp."

To add insult to injury they were sent through the post. Some veterans even sent them back in disgust.

Mr Lowe is still waiting for his. But attending the parade will make all the difference to him.

Any veterans who would like to join the parade on Sunday are asked to contact Mr Lowe on 0191-584 6848.

Memorial events - Page 8