RFA Personnel who served on ships directly in support of the Suez Canal Conflict may now apply for the Naval General Service Medal 1918-62, with the ‘Canal Zone’ clasp.
RFA Personnel who served on ships directly in support of the Suez Canal Conflict may now apply for the Naval General Service Medal 1918-62, with the ‘Canal Zone’ clasp.
To qualify for this award members of the RFA must have served on a ship that was directly involved in Operations for a period of 30 days continuous service within the designated geographical boundaries, between the 16th October 1951 to the 19th October 1954.
Please note this is not the medal and clasp for 1956 when the Suez Canal was seized and blocked by General Nassar – and for which the clasp is ‘Near East’
Geographical Boundaries
Northern Boundary: The Northern Boundary of the area is the Mediterranean Coast at Port Said between 32 degrees, 15 minutes east and 32 degrees, 20 minutes east.
Western Boundary: This follows the urban boundary of Port Said, then southwards to El Tina forming a narrow corridor along the western Canal Bank. This corridor is approximately one mile wide at most points but incorporates the ‘Treaty’ and ‘Canal’ roads an all camps along these routes. The boundary then follows the ‘Erskine Line’ running directly west from El Tino to the Bar el Baqar Drain and then South West along the Drain and the Drain diversion to the edge of the cultivated area of the Nile Delta (near Fagus), continuing as far as El Tawila. From here it runs south to El Abbasa between El Qurein and El Isdiya. From El Abbasa the boundary runs south by east to El Ribeiqi, then due south to the 30th Parallel.
Southern Boundary: The Southern Boundary runs east along the 30th parallel to the edge of the Gebel Ataqa and along the line of the escarpment to Ras Umm Mughera, it then follows the coastline northward through Ras el Adabya and Suez to Port Taufiq.
Eastern Boundary: From Port Taufiq the boundary follows the eastern bank of the Canal to the urban boundary or Port Fouad on the Mediterranean Coast. This boundary incorporates installations along the east bank including the Marine Quarantine Station near Port Taufiq and the transit camp at Port Fouad.
RFA Veterans of this campaign who feel that they have the necessary service to qualify for this medal should apply in writing to the medal office address given below:
Please Note:
You must provide the following information when applying;
Full Name
Discharge Book Number
Rank or Rating
Unit (in this case Royal Fleet Auxiliary)
Date of Birth
Date of joining the RFA
Date of retiring from the RFA
It may be prudent to supply a photocopy of the relevant page from your Discharge Book to support your claim.
Next of Kin of RFA veterans who have died are also invited to apply for this award, but it will be necessary to supply documentary evidence.
RFA Veterans wishing to apply for this award should write to:
Royal Fleet Auxiliary Medal Office
Personnel Operations
Room 13
Mail Point G1
West Battery,
Whale Island,
Portsmouth.
PO2 8DX
Please note that your application may take up to three months to process, this is because your details have to be officially verified before the medal can be issued.