Excerpts from Books and Wikipedia
"In June 1953 the RCC abolished the monarchy and proclaimed a republic . . . To the Egyptians, Britain’s presence there was an intolerable affront to national sovereignty. . . . Moreover, under the terms of a 1936 treaty, the British were supposed to restrict their Suez garrison to no more than 10,000 men. The Egyptians used Britain’s occupation there as a pretext for incessant anti-British agitation ; guerrilla raids in the Canal Zone, aided and abetted by the authorities in Cairo, were a common occurrence. ‘We cannot feel free and sovereign until they go,’ said Nasser. . . . In October 1954 Britain and Egypt reached a compromise. Britain agreed to withdraw all British troops from the Canal Zone by 18 June 1956; while Egypt accepted that British civilian technicians could remain on the base for a period of seven years to operate ordnance depots and army workshops retained for Britain’s use; the base was thus to be shared. . . . For the first time since 1882, Egypt would have no British garrison on its territory. And for the first time in twenty-five centuries, it would have complete national sovereignty. Nasser was naturally jubilant." [The Fate of Africa, p. 31-8]