Open Writing

When VJ Day brought the war to an end, those of us who were in the RAF found that there was no longer any need to carry out our normal duties. For a time we were moved around to various stations, and eventually were sent to Egypt until it was time for our demobilisation.

The group to which I was attached sailed from Toulon in the south of France and arrived in Port Said on 2nd April, 1946. We were then taken to a camp near Heliopolis, not far from Cairo, before being dispersed to our different stations.

The following is part of a letter sent home on 22nd April.

“This morning some of us went along to the station church to book for a trip to the Pyramids. We set off in two lorries about two o’clock, travelling through Heliopolis and Cairo to Gizeh.

Yesterday was some festival or other here; the crowds in the streets today were like those at Blackpool central pier during Wakes Week. Some of them were strolling along wearing paper hats; others piled in large numbers on to small carts pulled by one little donkey. The trams, which are usually packed, were hidden from view under a mass of trailing robes; people even sat on the tram roof! It reminded me of the old picture postcard, “Last tram to Longroyd Bridge.”

The road up to the Pyramids is very modern; the tram track runs down the centre and there is overhead lighting. You travel along a long, level stretch, then the road bends up and to the left ¾ the Mena House Hotel lies on the right hand side of the hill ¾ and you are there.

We took our own dragoman, Ibrahim, with us. He was dressed in a blue-and-white-striped under-robe with a dazzling white one on top, a small white cap, a beautifully embroidered silk scarf over his left shoulder, and he carried a stick. He either showed us round himself or got other guides for us, to whom, he said, we were not to give ‘baksheesh’ because he had paid them already.

The lorries were parked near the Great Pyramid of Cheops. Ibrahim then told us something about the Pyramids. There are nine altogether, three big ones (all different sizes) where kings were buried, and six smaller ones for their families. Five of the small ones are now just piles of rubble.

The stone was brought from hills across the Nile Valley. While the river was in flood, the stone was shipped across; when the dry season came, the slaves carried on building with the stone which they had in store. A boat used for this work was dug up in 1927. The hole where it lay can still be seen.

First of all we went down a rough-hewn passage into the earth where we saw a stone coffin, the lid of which was propped open so that, by the light of a few candles, we could see bones inside ¾ the bones of some ancient prime minister.

Coming above ground again, we went out through a carved gateway, seen on the photograph of the Great Pyramid of Cheops ¾ you can see a carved lion on either side of the entrance if you look closely. On the same photograph you will see a pole surmounting the Pyramid which marks the original height.

Next we visited a large shaft cut out of the rock. In one wall were two openings, one of which contained the coffin of a queen. The contents are now in the British Museum.

Further down the hill is the Sphinx, much smaller than I had expected. It is in an enclosure into which we were not taken. The face is that of a woman, signifying beauty, the head that of a man, signifying wisdom, the body that of a lion, signifying strength.

After seeing the Sphinx, we went into the Temple of the Sphinx. The large embalming chamber has walls of dovetailed granite and limestone; the floor is of alabaster, as was the roof before it was removed. The guide held a candle to show us how the light used to show through the roof.

We walked back to the Great Pyramid and went inside. The passage goes in for several yards, then turns up at an angle of about 45°. There are no steps but a sloping board with cross pieces of wood and metal. For a long time you must bend double; then the roof lifts to about 20 feet high. Up and up you climb, and on the level again where you bend down once more.

So you come into the burial chamber with its stone coffin. The way back is the same way by which you came. By the time you get into the open again, you are boiled!

We had tea, a sandwich and two cakes at the café beside the Great Pyramid. The sides of the place are open, and cages of singing birds hang from the roof. The total cost for the trip and tea was only 17 piastres (about 3 shillings and 6 pence).”