Church memorial for Suez veterans

The emergency preceded the 1956 Suez crisis

A plaque commemorating soldiers from Devon who served in the Suez Crisis, is to be unveiled on Saturday.

An estimated 200,000 British troops served in the canal zone during the 1951-54 emergency. More than 300 died.

A memorial service for veterans will be held at St Mary Arches Church in Exeter before the plaque is unveiled.

RAF veteran Mike Hardy said it was a successful campaign for the plaque, but that efforts were still needed to honour those who died.

Forgotten Army

The Suez emergency began in October 1951 when the Egyptian government unilaterally overturned a 1936 treaty with Britain governing the number of UK troops in the canal zone, triggering an anti-British guerrilla campaign.

The troops who served during the emergency have sometimes been called the "Forgotten Army".

Former RAF man and veterans' leader Mike Hardy, 71, from Crediton, persuaded both the Diocese of Exeter and the city council to allow the memorial.

He said: "It's very emotional. It gives me a great deal of pride to honour those who didn't come back."

The plaque will commemorate those who died in the Canal Zone itself and a group of servicemen, including two from Exeter, who died in an air crash near Malta while coming home in 1956.

Mike Hardy said: "There is no definite number of how many from Devon were lost because most of the records were lost by the MoD."

Last year, the government promised all Suez veterans recognition of their bravery with a general service medal.

Mike Hardy said: "There could be up to 250,000 eligible for the medal, but so far only 40,000 had made the application.

"We're pressing the government all the time to see what it can do."