Withdrawal from Aden

The withdrawal from Aden was the final withdrawal of British troops from the colony of Aden, 128 years and 10 months after the Aden Expedition first brought the territory under British control. High Commissioner Sir Humphrey Trevelyan boarded an RAF aircraft at RAF Khormaksar after a short handover ceremony on 30 November 1967. The last troops to leave were the Royal Engineers.^[1][2]

Withdrawal from Aden
Part of Aden Emergency
Sir Humphrey Trevelyan waving to departing British helicopters on 30 November 1967.
Date 30 November 1967 Location Aden Result NLF victory End of the Aden Emergency Independence of South Yemen
Belligerents
United Kingdom	National Liberation Front (NLF)
Commanders and leaders
Humphrey Trevelyan	Qahtan al-Shaabi
Strength
3,500	Unknown

NLF celebrations on 30 November

The withdrawal meant the end of the Aden Emergency, and the dissolution of both the Federation of South Arabia and the Protectorate of South Arabia. The NLF would declare the independence of South Yemen 11 hours after the last British troops had left, although their conflict with the Nasser-supported FLOSY continued into the following year. The latter would be defeated with covert British support.^[3]

Bibliography

• Mawby, Spencer (2005). British policy in Aden and the protectorates 1955-67: last outpost of a Middle East empire (2005 ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-0-7146-5459-1.