Call for papers - Naval Dockyards Society Annual Conference
Posted: Monday 5th January 2026
Event date: Saturday 28 March 2026
Event location: National Maritime Museum Greenwich (hybrid)
Call for Papers extended until 16 January 2026
Aftermath of the 1956 Suez crisis: Global Ramifications and Reflections for Dockyards and Shipyards
Naval Dockyards Society 30th Annual Conference (hybrid)
Sponsored by the Society for Nautical Research
Writing a decade after the Suez crisis, one contemporary politician dismissed the affair as merely ‘the dying convulsion of the British Empire.’* This view is still widely held today, but how authentic is that interpretation in hindsight?
How did the Suez crisis redefine Britain’s international identity and economic profile and its relationship with former colonies and ongoing allies? And how did it influence attitudes among Britain’s allies, including France and Israel, who had taken part, and the United States who had forced an early end to the action?
Critically, how did the Suez aftermath and its often-bitter recriminations shape future British naval policy on home and overseas dockyards and shipyards and their communities?
Conference themes will include:
- Overview of how the Suez crisis shaped subsequent British and Allied naval strategy and deployment in the Cold War
- Analysis of the post-Suez impact on each of the major imperial Dockyards (see below)
- Political, local, social and economic effects of Suez on dockyards and shipyards globally
- Global strategic threats and opportunities arising from Suez
- Suez accelerated the global power shift from Britain to the United States – evidence?
Proposals could address:
- From end of Empire to a global network of purpose-built, imperial logistics hubs: a structure of continued UK home bases with reduced roles (Portsmouth, Devonport, Rosyth), national assets transferred to successor states (Bombay, Trincomalee, Simon’s Town), downsized or closed precincts repurposed for civilian/heritage use (Chatham, Bermuda), and territories retaining strategic value but with a reconfigured political status (Gibraltar, Malta, Hong Kong).
- Economically and socially, dockyard communities across the Empire faced job losses, skill reallocation and identity shifts — from imperial industrial towns to local maritime economies and heritage economies. Strategically, the network’s contraction mirrored Britain’s movement from unilateral global actor to a state operating within alliance frameworks (especially US/NATO)
Download full Call for Papers here.
