Suez Canal veteran says support for military personnel is 'very important'

A Suez Canal veteran says it’s ‘important we don’t forget’ the men and women who have served in the armed forces.

From a young age, George Robertson’s life has been intertwined with the military.

His grandfather enlisted and survived the First World War, and his father joined the military during the Second World War.

He was just a child during the conflict, which ran from 1939 to 1945, but every day after school, he would help his grandfather with the war effort.

He told STV News: “During the Second World War, my grandfather got the job of making gas masks, and it was done in a room above the old fire station in Brechin.

“There were flat-pack cardboard boxes, which I had to make into a box. I put the gas masks in, and there were rubber stamps for L, M, and S.

“I was eight to twelve, maybe during the war, and I didn’t really think much of it. My father went off to the war when he was called up, and it was just my mother and me left at home.”

George served with the Royal Signals in the Suez Canal in the 1950s STV News

Before long, George was called up for National Service in 1951, but he signed on for an extra year to help him get a job in communications.

“I was always interested in telecommunications, so I joined the Royal Signals,” he said.

Following his National Service, George started his career with British Telecoms.

In 1956, another set of call-up papers arrived for him, which saw him deployed to Egypt.

Britain, along with France and Israel, had invaded the country to recover control of the Suez Canal Company after Egyptian President Nasser nationalised it.

“I got recalled for the Suez Campaign.

“I spent six weeks at Aldershot, then I sailed out to Malta and had six weeks in Malta, which was nice. Then we sailed out to the canal zone, and I was there for about eight weeks.

“We did our best and set up a communications system with the French foreign legion across the other side of the canal.

“After the ceasefire, they invited us across for refreshments and, by Jove, they’re a tough-looking bunch, the French Foreign Legion!

“I got home at 6pm on Hogmanay, I had a cup of tea with my mother and then rounded up my pals and away we went up town.”

Over the next 30 years, George met his wife Dorothy, and they raised a family in Broughty Ferry.

George was presented with a President's Award from PoppyScotland — George was presented with a President’s Award from PoppyScotland STV News

By 1990, he thought he had left war zones behind him until he took a job in Kuwait.

“My wife and I went out with the intention of staying for a few years, but Saddam Hussain invaded on the second of August in 1990 and put a stop to that.

“We were in hiding for about six weeks, and the caretaker of the apartment block had the skeleton keys for all the apartments. So we used to raid them for food.

“But the Iraqis knew we were there, and after six weeks, we were rounded up and taken to various parts of Iraq.”

George’s wife was released from the country along with other women and children, but he was kept in a chemical factory.

He, along with several other people who needed medical treatment, was repatriated to the UK on a flight arranged by businessman Richard Branson.

George then worked as a case worker for the armed forces charity SSAFA, and for the last 16 years, he’s been a familiar face on the Poppy Scotland stalls around Dundee.

At the age of 90, he was given the Poppy Scotland Presidents Award for his dedication to the charity.

With Remembrance Day approaching, George has this message.

“It’s very important we don’t forget,” he said.

“The world is not becoming a better place; our service men and women are still going to war, and it’s important organisations like Poppy Scotland are there to support them in their need.”