When the Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalised the Suez canal in 1956, he took control of one of the main oil routes from the Middle East. France and Britain tried to seize it back.

Witness speaks to Tony Bunce, who was a young British soldier involved in the invasion of Port Said in 1956.

(Photo: The wreckage of a ship sunk by Egyptians to block the Suez Canal appears at the surface of water, 11 November 1956 in Port Said.) (Credit: STAFF/AFP/Getty Images)