1950s: It was all for one and one for all in the Last Drop over Egypt during Operation Musketeer

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As the Middle East staggers from one crisis to the next, a Derby veteran of the 1956 Suez War recalls being parachuted into the conflict. It is almost 50 years to the day since Eric Doyle, of Allenton, found himself taking part in Operation Musketeer – a battle which was won in a war which was lost and which subsequently brought down British Prime Minister Anthony Eden. As he prepares for a 50th reunion with members of his old regiment, Eric talks to Pat Parkin about the action.

Eric Doyle, of Allenton (now 73) when he was a paratrooper waiting to dropped in Egypt during the Suez Crisis

A map of Egypt, showing the Suez Canal

In action: Eric Doyle, sitting wth his back to the camera with the cigarette in his mouth, with members of the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment in Egypt in 1956

3rd Battalion Parachut Regiment in training before being parachuted into the Suez conflict in 1956

DOYLE FAMILY: West Enders Alf and Clara Doyle with their 10 children. Back, from left: Peter, Clara, Mary, Doreen, Eric, Rosie and Alf. Front: Lucy, Kathleen, and Ethel

THE MEMORY of the day he was parachuted into a war zone in Egypt, to take part in face-to-face battle with the enemy in the disastrous 1956 Suez war, is never far from Eric Doyle’s mind.

His home in Allenton is filled with memorabilia and photographs of the eight years he spent, first in the Merchant Navy and then in the 3rd Battalion Parachute Regiment – and his family and friends love to hear about his exploits as a young man.

In 1955, he was the Champion Recruit with the 3rd Paras. But it was the part he played in Operation Musketeer, a daring and dangerous plan by the British Government to seize the town and port of Suez, in Egypt, during the confrontation with President Nasser over the Suez Canal, which was the most memorable.

It was a campaign undertaken with great valour by the parachutists who were dropped on to El Gamil airfield and had to be ready for immediate action.

It all happened at early light on November 5, 1956, and, 50 years on to the day, Eric will be reunited with many of his old Para pals when they gather for a special anniversary reunion at Aldershot.

So proud are the Doyle family of him that Guy Fawkes’ Night celebrations in Derby will be given a miss as he takes along his son Alfred, brother Peter and his eight grandsons to join in the regiment’s special festivities.

Said Eric (73): “They’ve all heard so much about it, so often, and I knew they’d like to come. I’ve hired a minibus and we’ll have a weekend and a nice meal together. They won’t be able to come along to the actual regimental ‘do’, but we’ll all meet up and have a great time.”

In 1956, when the Suez Crisis occurred, the 3rd Parachute Regiment was stationed in Cyprus and Commanding Officer, Lt-Col Paul Crook, was told to prepare his units for the top secret raid.

Total surprise was essential and, at about 4.15 on the morning of November 5, the first of the 660 men began to drop onto the airfield.

Due to a shortage of aircraft, and because the Hastings, Valetta and Dakota aircraft used were unable to carry heavy equipment, the men landed with no heavy weapons support. However, they did have the benefit of cover because, fearing a landing from the air, the Egyptians had placed sand-filled oil drums around the airfield which the parachutists were able to dodge behind, resulting in far fewer casualties than might have been expected.

No personal weapons were carried during their descent, so they then had to break open the containers carrying their small arms and ammunition before moving in to attack. Though heavily armed, the enemy troops had all their equipment facing skyward in preparation for an air raid.

Said Eric: “We were ill-equipped. In fact, all our guys had were 303 Lee Enfield single shot rifles against their Belgian FN automatic firing guns with fixed bayonets. But they weren’t prepared for us so we were able to shoot down the enemy and then grab their guns.

“There was a lot of smoke and a tremendous amount of noise. I was one of the first out, dropping from a Valetta. We just took them to pieces.”

Eric said the involvement of the RAF in the action was immense. “They were absolutely great,” he said.

But, unfortunately, he lost pals in the conflict – 3 Para lost four men, 36 were wounded and 17 taken prisoner.

Operation Musketeer became known as The Last Drop because it was the 3rd Parachute Regiment’s first and last combat jump by a battalion group since the Second World War.

Eric returned with his unit to Cyprus and, in 1957, married his fiancee, Pat Smith, at Derby Registry Office.

The following year, he left the Army and returned to civilian life where he worked until retirement in steel erecting at power stations. Sadly, in 1972, Pat died of cancer, at the age of 32, leaving Eric to bring up their three children.

Born in the West End, he was one of 10 children. His parent, Alf and Clara Doyle, lived in a two-up, two-down, back-to-back house with an outside toilet in Willow Row.

He attended Reginald Street School and, in his early days, did jobs at the old Grand Theatre and worked on travelling fairground shows.

He joined the Merchant Navy in 1949, working on several ships, including the Queen Mary, until 1955 when he was “kicked out” after missing the boat in South Africa.

That was when he joined the 3rd Parachute Regiment, with whom he spent three years and enjoyed every minute.

“I had, and still have, many great friends there. It’s nice to meet up with them from time to time. I think this year’s 50th anniversary will be something special.”

He still remembers the night before “the last drop” when he was singing Buddy Can You Spare a Dime in the NAAFI, just a few hours before there was a briefing and he and his pals were making the 30-minute flight to Port Said.

“I was always Jack the lad so I was going to be first out of that plane. I was older than the others, 21 while most of them were about 18.

“We were all very well trained. It’s such a pity the whole thing happened. War never seems to solve things.”

Within a few days of the launch of the operation, all the British troops had been withdrawn and returned to Cyprus on a troopship.

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