ABSTRACT
A collection of essays on Britain between 1951 and 1964 was given the title of The Age of Affluence, which seemed highly appropriate when the book was published in 1970. This was indeed a period of transformation in the lives of most British people, thanks chiefly to the easy availability of consumer goods. In the Middle East the rising popularity of Arab nationalism presented a serious challenge to Britain’s position in the region. With the discovery and large-scale reserves of crude oil after the Second World War, the Middle East was no longer a region to pass through on the way elsewhere: it was a destination in its own right, and the Suez Canal was vital for both purposes. Attacks on British troops in the Suez Canal Zone increased after 1950, prompting the government to authorise a crackdown through Operation Eagle on ‘Black Saturday’, 25 January 1952.
