After a 50-year battle for recognition, the troops of a forgotten army have finally been presented with medals.

Sussex veterans who served in the Suez Canal between 1951 and 1954 have won the right to be presented with General Service Medals.

About 200,000 troops were sent to Egypt to protect the canal and confront guerrilla forces who objected to Britain's occupation of the country. More than 300 never returned home, killed in action.

The decision not to award the medals was a political move by the then Government, which stated the troops were not on active service.

Among those celebrating receiving a medal is Bert Barrow, 71, of Freshfield Road, Brighton.

He travelled to Egypt as a 19-year-old and served in the Royal Air Force for three years.

He said: "I feel over the moon to finally have my medal. We just shouldn't have had to fight for so many years to get it."

Despite receiving his medal last week, Mr Barrow could not bring himself to wear it at this year's Remembrance Sunday celebrations.

He said: "I almost feel like a beggar. Initially, I felt quite angry we were not presented with the medals officially and we had to receive them through the post.

"But when the postman came to my house and shouted to me that it had finally arrived, I felt like that young man was presenting it to me.

"He was about the same age as my comrades were in Egypt and probably the same age as the men now fighting in Iraq.

"It was an honour to be given my medal by him. It was Royal Mail which presented me with my award."

Fellow veteran Bob Truelove, 73, of Hollingdean, Brighton, is waiting to receive his medal.

He served with the Royal Sussex Regiment in Egypt from the age of 19 between 1949 and 1952.

His most haunting memory is of dragging the bodies of his comrades from the wreckage of a refinery, which had been subjected to a mortar attack.

He said: "I see these medals as a tribute to all those who were killed in the Suez. I will wear my medal with pride. It symbolises a recognition of all we did out there."

He is happy to be receiving the medal through the post and is looking forward to wearing it.

He said: "I will wear it on the very next occasion I am able, which will probably be on St George's Day."

The Suez conflict arose when Egypt abrogated the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian treaty, which allowed Britain to keep a presence in the area.

The Egyptians wanted British troops out of the zone and threatened to nationalise the canal, endangering access to the international waterway and key British installations in the area.