Suez, 1956

[Lat-Literal]

[QUOTE=Dai Cottomy;644218]

I'm hoping those who were around at the time can help me out here....



I was around then. Here is a small poem that I wrote around the 60th anniversary of the Suez affair to mark my contribution to the decline of the British Empire.

1956

Two years of military service ended;
Peacetime, so nothing to be defended.
Then Nasser decided to take over
The Suez canal; It was just like
Taking over the White Cliffs of Dover.
So fresh in a new job the summons came;
The call-up notice, back to the Army Game.
Return to Yorkshire, weather getting parky;
Watching tanks being painted khaki;
Playing cards in the Mess, awaiting the day
Which never came; The Yanks refused to play.

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Thank you.

And, of course, the end of National Service in - what was it : 1959? - also had an impact on deference.

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... o, I'm precisely not a hero worshipper.

Sadly it seems that it's at the bottom of the hierarchy that people are most seduced by the notion - of a guru, hero, Buddha, military leader, Mao, Putin, Trump, Mussolini, Stalin, Thatcher, Napoleon, de Gaulle - who will solve all their problems...

.

I am not sure that I wanted heroes as such or even the euphemistic "strong leader" but I had a huge amount of respect for a lot of politicians in the past about whom I then knew comparatively little. Why? Because I only feel secure when the people in charge seem competent, well-meaning and..........superior to me. A part of it involves my family origins. A university education changed nothing in that regard other than I had resentment that it wasn't as easy for me in the workplace. In fact, I'd go as far as to say that while I think I have a reasonable amount to offer, any notion that most people in authority are bad or just useless can make me feel that my life is in danger. And I find it - and them - very sad.

Anyhow, certainly I didn't ever identify with the idea that "we can be heroes (even) just for one day".

[un barbu]

... o, this longing for the "Providential Man (or Woman)"

Human nature to wish for someone to save us all, I suspose.

But it ain't real.

Mme v just wishes that them as run Tesco or John Lewis could run the country. I do my usual bit of saying "well, it's all a bit more complicated than that" before retiring to a darkened room with an aspirin.

But I don't believe in a saviour. Not even in a "what if... ?" scenario.


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Carlyle has a great deal to answer for.

[vinteuil]

Carlyle has a great deal to answer for.

... yep. But Sartor Resartus, Reminiscences, and The French Revolution are great fun...

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[ardcarp]

In my quest fro 'the best PM we never had', I wasn't thinking of a dux bellorum and definitely not a dynasty. Just someone firm but above all decent and humane. Jim Callaghan was probably the best PM we had. So sad that he was done for by his own party (in a nutshell).

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/mar/27/james-callaghan-prime-minister-centenary

[vinteuil]

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... given how Blair was drawn into the Iraq mess, I am more and more impressed by Wilson and his resistance to US pressure to join in the Vietnam quagmire.


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[P. G. Tipps]

. Mme v just wishes that them as run Tesco or John Lewis could run the country ...

If that ever comes to pass, and as one with no little experience of 'being run' by such an outfit, one might suddenly find themselves constantly yearning for the halcyon days of David Cameron ...

[Lat-Literal]

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... given how Blair was drawn into the Iraq mess, I am more and more impressed by Wilson and his resistance to US pressure to join in the Vietnam quagmire.


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10 February 1965:

"I expressed concern to Johnson about the Vietcong attack and suggested I might come over to talk with him. To my surprise, he let fly in an outburst of Texan temper:

I think a trip, Mr Prime Minister, would be very misunderstood......I won't tell you how to run Malaysia and you don't tell me how to run Vietnam.....If you want to help us some in Vietnam send us some men and send us some folks to deal with these guerillas. And announce to the press you are going to help us. Now if you don't feel like doing that, go on with your Malaysian problem".

.....After he claimed he was supporting us in all international matters.....I said we were getting anything but help from him with Spain : "We are facing a hell of a problem in Gibralter where a lot of bloody fascists are treating our people abominably.""

Not a bad 75 pence worth - "Wilson : The Labour Government 1964-1970 - A Personal Record"

[teamsaint]

" ..Drawn into"...is a very generous description of Blair's role in Iraq, IMO.

[un barbu]

... yep. But Sartor Resartus, Reminiscences, and The French Revolution are great fun...

.

Agreed. 'Sartor' is fascinating and stimulating. I used his account of the execution of Louis when I taught 3rd Form History. The boys were bowled over by it. Jeannie, however, is in some respects a finer writer. I used some of her letters when I taught a WEA class in Scottish Literature and the class loved them. Plus they are free to read online (as are his).

[Conchis]

Re: National Service - my stepfather tells me that when he did his, a couple of his compatriots returned from a weekend off with sunburn. They were both torn off a strip and penalised 'for defacing Her Majesty's property.'

[P. G. Tipps]

Re: National Service - my stepfather tells me that when he did his, a couple of his compatriots returned from a weekend off with sunburn. They were both torn off a strip and penalised 'for defacing Her Majesty's property.'

I know this all off-topic (here is only so much one can say about Eden and the Suez disaster) but when you are told stories like that you realise how times have changed so much.

I can remember an ex-commando teacher at my first Scottish secondary school called MacMillan who used to regularly smack boys across the head for laughing or giving the wrong answer to a question. Needless to say, my head was constantly sore.

As for the girls, their fate was to have their nicely-combed hairstyles completely destroyed by way of his hands which often left them in tears. He also found time to administer the tawse to some of the boys as well as a preliminary head-smacking though mercifully he did spare the girls that particular pain.

I remember his wife taught at the same school and her reputation among the pupils was, if anything, even worse. Fortunately for the boys she only took girls' classes.

And we thought we were blessed compared to the 'school-discipline' cruelties of our parents' generation. At least that's what our parents told us ... and in those days it was no use running home complaining to mum and dad just to get our heads smacked again!

[Richard Tarleton]

10 February 1965:

"I expressed concern to Johnson about the Vietcong attack and suggested I might come over to talk with him. To my surprise, he let fly in an outburst of Texan temper:

[I]I think a trip, Mr Prime Minister, would be very misunderstood......I won't tell you how to run Malaysia and you don't tell me how to run Vietnam.....If you want to help us some in Vietnam send us some men and send us some folks to deal with these guerillas.

Footnote: is anyone watching Ken Burns's superlative and terrifying documentary series on Vietnam on BBC4.....

[Lat-Literal]

Footnote: is anyone watching Ken Burns's superlative and terrifying documentary series on Vietnam on BBC4.....

Not yet although I am aware of it.

I'm trying to prepare myself for it!