Between the close of the Second World War and the handover of Hong Kong back to China, the United Kingdom went through the process of decolonization, withdrawing troops and influence from the former British Empire. The Aden Emergency was one flashpoint during this long process.
One of the most ungovernable places on Earth, the modern state of Yemen (which is again embroiled in a terrible civil war) was born out of the unification of North Yemen and South Yemen.
British troops fought against Yemeni hill tribesmen in the mountainous Radfan region, and urban nationalist guerrillas in and around the port of Aden between 1963 and 1967.
Kosta Heristanidis has produced three sets of figures for the Aden Emergency: British in bush hats, British in glengarries and Yemeni tribesmen . These figures could also serve to represent British or Commonwealth troops deployed to Kenya to fight the Mau-Mau, or Malaya during the Communist insurgency.
Our model Yemeni hill tribesmen wear traditional dress including the Janbiya dagger, an item no Yemeni man leaves the house without. They are armed with captured and stockpiled weapons, including an MG-34 light machinegun.
The figures representing the British troops are available wearing bush hats or the glengarry cap.
The 'Glengarried Men' represent the famous Argyll and Sutherland regiment, which re-took the town of Crater, in Aden, from Arab nationalist guerrillas in a text book operation, preceding the final withdrawal of British troops from the region.
The figures are carrying L1A1 rifles, Sterling SMGs and 7.62 L7A2 machineguns.