Famous Anglophile Sir Robert Menzies loved Britain dearly and it's certainly no stretch to say that before he made history as Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister he had seriously contemplated a career in UK politics. However, his allegiance to the Mother Country was sorely tested in 1956 by his British counterpart, Sir Anthony Eden, during the Suez Canal crisis. The Suez Crisis pre-dated the Cold War. It became a flash point in the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, and Australia's most revered leader was caught up, smack-bang in the middle. It's a story outlined in the latest book on the political life of Sir Robert, 'The Menzies Era', written by another former PM, John Howard. Robert Menzies and Queen Elizabeth at a Canberra reception in 1954. Australia's longest serving PM always had a close affinity with the royals and the UK . The early political days. Robert Menzies walks through a guard of honour in 1941 at Rose Bay in Sydney . The stand-off over the Suez was sparked by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser move to take control of the canal - so pivotal to global trade at the time - from Britain and France . In his book, Mr Howard calls the Suez crisis as 'a series of events variously described as the last gasp of the British Empire, a meltdown in trust between the United States and Great Britain, a crisis that destroyed the career of British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden .. a worldwide political drama that saw, for a time, our own prime minister, Robert Menzies, at its very centre'. The stand-off over Suez was sparked after Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser moved to take control of the canal - so pivotal to global trade at the time - from Britain and France. The West then started to consider how it could wrest back the trade route from Egypt, according to Mr Howard's account. Middle Eastern strongman, Gamal Abdel Nasser, the then Egyptian President, successfully called the western powers' bluff over their warnings of military action over control of the Suez Canal, much to the detriment of Robert Menzies at a pivotal meeting . This scene is of an Advisory War Council, which brought together no less than five Prime Ministers and a Governor General. Standing (l to r) Norman Makin, Percy Spender and Arthur Fadden. Seated (l to r) Jack Beasley, Billy Hughes, Robert Menzies, Lord Gowrie, John Curtin and Frank Forde . Some big political names go for a stroll outside Old Parliament House in Canberra with Menzies (far left) joined by Lyons, Harrison, Holt and White . Nearing the end of his long reign, this is the Menzies ministry photographed prior to the 1963 election . Western nations met in London for crisis talks, with US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles taking the lead in early negotiations. However, Dulles soon withdrew from the talks, telling his President Dwight D. Eisenhower he was to return home as 'it is preferable that we (the United States) become less conspicuous'. At that time the US economy was not reliant on trade through the canal, unlike much of Europe. The Americans also knew the Brits were far from financially secure post World War II, and that a crisis over Suez could potentially help the United States’ position as the world's growing superpower. Menzies had been due to return to Australia from a meeting of Commonwealth Prime Ministers in London but as the drama over Suez began to unfold, he decided to personally take control of Australia's role in the discussions. The Indonesian President Sukarno introduces his young daughter Megawati to Robert Menzies and Dame Pattie in 1959. She would go on to also become president of Indonesia . Sir Robert Menzies was a devoted cricket follower and is pictured here with Sir Donald Bradman (far right) and the England captain of the day in 1963, Ted Dexter. They are seen in Canberra for the traditional PM's XI match . Whether the UK was miffed at Menzies' insistence that, while Australia would support the UK in action against Egypt, it would be without troops, is unclear. What is certain, though, is that the Brits were not pleased when Eden's request for an Australian warship to be placed in Yemen was met with no more than 'a cagey response'. With Dulles' departure, it was Menzies who was charged with delivering a plan devised during an international meeting in London to Nasser. The plan included the potential for US-backed military action. However, Eisenhower publicly denounced the use of force and Menzies was effectively left with a document not worth the paper it was written on. An increasingly brusque Nasser knew that 'Eisenhower had given Nasser a green light to rebuff Menzies,' Mr Howard wrote in his book. Larger than life. Menzies holding a cartoon of himself . And worse was to follow for Menzies. He continued to back the British cause but with one eye still fixed on the Americans. Subsequently he was sidelined when Britain, France and Israel agreed on a bizarre cloak and dagger proposal, in which the latter would invade Egypt, providing a pretext for the British and French to issue a cease-fire ultimatum to both Israel and Egypt. 'This agreement was recorded in the Sevres Protocol, which remained secret for many years,' wrote Mr Howard. Ultimately, Egypt refused the ultimatum and an Anglo-French invasion of Egypt then took place, sparking international condemnation, championed by the US, and leading to a cowering withdrawal. The debacle broke Eden, who resigned. In summarising the event, Mr Howard made very clear that he believed Eden had been less than frank with his ally in Menzies. 'Even allowing for the less discreet and rapid communications at that time, Eden's failure to consult Menzies before the issuing of the ultimatum to Israel and Egpyt was poor treatment of a loyal ally,' he wrote. John Howard is Australia's second longest serving PM, behind only Sir Robert Menzies. His book 'The Menzies Era' is a candid account of those years in Australia . 'Suez was significant for Menzies,' wrote Mr Howard. 'It placed him in the world spotlight as the man who presented the proposal for international control of the canal to Nasser. Always a tough brief to argue, it became impossible once Eisenhower had pronounced, "we are committed to a peaceful settlement of this dispute, nothing else."' 'Most distressing of all to Menzies was the poisonous atmosphere that developed between London and Washington over Suez; it challenged a world view which had governed his thinking for a decade,' stated Mr Howard. 'To him there would never be tension between his Anglophile instincts and his realistic acceptance that America now dominated the free world, because those two "great and powerful friends" would always be of one mind on important international issues. But they were not so on Suez.' 'The Menzies Era' recalls the longest unbroken period of government for one side of politics in Australia's history .
Sir Robert Menzies was caught in the middle of a power play by the US and Britain over the Suez Canal crisis in 1956 .
Menzies was thrust into the centre of a worldwide political drama when made the messenger by his UK counterpart Sir Anthony Eden .
His threat of likely military action was ridiculed by the then Egyptian President and then he was sidelined during key meetings .
Former PM John Howard calls Britain's behaviour of Menzies during that period as 'poor treatment of a loyal ally'
The book also contains rare images of Menzies during his time as Australian Prime Minister, giving an insight into his record stint in power .
Famous Anglophile Sir Robert Menzies loved Britain dearly and it's certainly no stretch to say that before he made history as Australia's longest-serving Prime Minister he had seriously contemplated a career in UK politics. However, his allegiance to the Mother Country was sorely tested in 1956 by his British counterpart, Sir Anthony Eden, during the Suez Canal crisis. The Suez Crisis pre-dated the Cold War. It became a flash point in the relationship between the United Kingdom and the United States, and Australia's most revered leader was caught up, smack-bang in the middle. It's a story outlined in the latest book on the political life of Sir Robert, 'The Menzies Era', written by another former PM, John Howard. Robert Menzies and Queen Elizabeth at a Canberra reception in 1954. Australia's longest serving PM always had a close affinity with the royals and the UK . The early political days. Robert Menzies walks through a guard of honour in 1941 at Rose Bay in Sydney . The stand-off over the Suez was sparked by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser move to take control of the canal - so pivotal to global trade at the time - from Britain and France . In his book, Mr Howard calls the Suez crisis as 'a series of events variously described as the last gasp of the British Empire, a meltdown in trust between the United States and Great Britain, a crisis that destroyed the career of British Prime Minister Sir Anthony Eden .. a worldwide political drama that saw, for a time, our own prime minister, Robert Menzies, at its very centre'. The stand-off over Suez was sparked after Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser moved to take control of the canal - so pivotal to global trade at the time - from Britain and France. The West then started to consider how it could wrest back the trade route from Egypt, according to Mr Howard's account. Middle Eastern strongman, Gamal Abdel Nasser, the then Egyptian President, successfully called the western powers' bluff over their warnings of military action over control of the Suez Canal, much to the detriment of Robert Menzies at a pivotal meeting . This scene is of an Advisory War Council, which brought together no less than five Prime Ministers and a Governor General. Standing (l to r) Norman Makin, Percy Spender and Arthur Fadden. Seated (l to r) Jack Beasley, Billy Hughes, Robert Menzies, Lord Gowrie, John Curtin and Frank Forde . Some big political names go for a stroll outside Old Parliament House in Canberra with Menzies (far left) joined by Lyons, Harrison, Holt and White . Nearing the end of his long reign, this is the Menzies ministry photographed prior to the 1963 election . Western nations met in London for crisis talks, with US Secretary of State John Foster Dulles taking the lead in early negotiations. However, Dulles soon withdrew from the talks, telling his President Dwight D. Eisenhower he was to return home as 'it is preferable that we (the United States) become less conspicuous'. At that time the US economy was not reliant on trade through the canal, unlike much of Europe. The Americans also knew the Brits were far from financially secure post World War II, and that a crisis over Suez could potentially help the United States’ position as the world's growing superpower. Menzies had been due to return to Australia from a meeting of Commonwealth Prime Ministers in London but as the drama over Suez began to unfold, he decided to personally take control of Australia's role in the discussions. The Indonesian President Sukarno introduces his young daughter Megawati to Robert Menzies and Dame Pattie in 1959. She would go on to also become president of Indonesia . Sir Robert Menzies was a devoted cricket follower and is pictured here with Sir Donald Bradman (far right) and the England captain of the day in 1963, Ted Dexter. They are seen in Canberra for the traditional PM's XI match . Whether the UK was miffed at Menzies' insistence that, while Australia would support the UK in action against Egypt, it would be without troops, is unclear. What is certain, though, is that the Brits were not pleased when Eden's request for an Australian warship to be placed in Yemen was met with no more than 'a cagey response'. With Dulles' departure, it was Menzies who was charged with delivering a plan devised during an international meeting in London to Nasser. The plan included the potential for US-backed military action. However, Eisenhower publicly denounced the use of force and Menzies was effectively left with a document not worth the paper it was written on. An increasingly brusque Nasser knew that 'Eisenhower had given Nasser a green light to rebuff Menzies,' Mr Howard wrote in his book. Larger than life. Menzies holding a cartoon of himself . And worse was to follow for Menzies. He continued to back the British cause but with one eye still fixed on the Americans. Subsequently he was sidelined when Britain, France and Israel agreed on a bizarre cloak and dagger proposal, in which the latter would invade Egypt, providing a pretext for the British and French to issue a cease-fire ultimatum to both Israel and Egypt. 'This agreement was recorded in the Sevres Protocol, which remained secret for many years,' wrote Mr Howard. Ultimately, Egypt refused the ultimatum and an Anglo-French invasion of Egypt then took place, sparking international condemnation, championed by the US, and leading to a cowering withdrawal. The debacle broke Eden, who resigned. In summarising the event, Mr Howard made very clear that he believed Eden had been less than frank with his ally in Menzies. 'Even allowing for the less discreet and rapid communications at that time, Eden's failure to consult Menzies before the issuing of the ultimatum to Israel and Egpyt was poor treatment of a loyal ally,' he wrote. John Howard is Australia's second longest serving PM, behind only Sir Robert Menzies. His book 'The Menzies Era' is a candid account of those years in Australia . 'Suez was significant for Menzies,' wrote Mr Howard. 'It placed him in the world spotlight as the man who presented the proposal for international control of the canal to Nasser. Always a tough brief to argue, it became impossible once Eisenhower had pronounced, "we are committed to a peaceful settlement of this dispute, nothing else."' 'Most distressing of all to Menzies was the poisonous atmosphere that developed between London and Washington over Suez; it challenged a world view which had governed his thinking for a decade,' stated Mr Howard. 'To him there would never be tension between his Anglophile instincts and his realistic acceptance that America now dominated the free world, because those two "great and powerful friends" would always be of one mind on important international issues. But they were not so on Suez.' 'The Menzies Era' recalls the longest unbroken period of government for one side of politics in Australia's history .
tested in 1956 by his British counterpart, Sir Anthony Eden, during the Suez Canal crisis. The former PM, John Howard. Robert Menzies and Queen The stand-off over the Suez was sparked by Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser move to his book, Mr Howard calls the Suez crisis as 'a Minister Sir Anthony Eden .. a worldwide political drama that saw, for a time, our own centre'. The stand-off over Suez was sparked strongman, Gamal Abdel Nasser, the then Egyptian the potential for US-backed military action. was sidelined when Britain, France and Israel condemnation, championed by the US, and leading ultimatum to Israel and Egpyt was poor treatment of a loyal ally,' he wrote. John Howard is only Sir Robert Menzies. His book 'The Menzies