.
The
Egyptian Navy immediately sent a warship to anchor off Muntazah
Palace and protect the Royal Family. Meanwhile the revolutionaries,
having silenced all phones and captured the radio station, were busily
imprisoning all senior police officials.
Soon
Army jet-bombers came whizzing over Muntazah Palace. The warship
trained her guns on them, and they sheered off. Apparently it was
to be only a demonstration, at this stage.
My
other warships were by now trapped beneath the fort guns in Alexandria
Harbor. I realized I must get away from Muntazah Palace, which
is a perfect air target. If I was to be shot down, I wanted it to
happen in the heart of Alexandria, where my people could see the
Royal Flag of Egypt at my palace mast. I did not want any postmortem
rumors that I had committed suicide.
0n
their captured radio, the revolutionaries announced a curfew:
"All persons and vehicles on the streets will be fired upon." We would
have to run a 15 kilometer gauntlet of tanks and armored cars to reach
Ra’s al-Tiyn Palace in the center of Alexandria.
Whatever
else happened, I wanted my son to get through those streets alive. I took
the wheel of our Mercedes and put my wife, son and our English nurse, Ann
Chermside, in the back seat. Beside me in the driving seat I
took my personal pilot and ADC, Hasan `Akif with a sub-machine
gun on his knee (poor `Akif is now in a concentration camp).
"If
we meet a tank, `Akif," I said, "the commander will have
his head out. Try to get him before he can duck."
`Akif laughed
and patted his gun, and in the back seat my baby slept.
We
went through the empty streets at 80 miles an hour. About two miles
from Ra’s al-Tiyn Palace, we met a patrol of two armored
cars, head on. Before either they or
`Akif could fire,
I managed to sneak the Mercedes round the nearest corner, and we were down
the next street while the two armored cars were still frantically revolving
their gun turrets.
All
that night, loyal officers and men came in to defend Ra’s
al-Tiyn Palace, dodging the curfew patrols. Some were shot in the attempt,
but by about 4 a.m. we had more than 800 defenders, including a complete
contingent of Sudanese.
We
barricaded the palace windows downstairs, and fixed machine guns along
the corridors. My three little daughters, whose car had taken another route,
and came in shortly behind my own, were wide eyed with excitement. It was
only with difficulty that we persuaded them to sleep that night. They slept
all together with their French governess, Miss Simone Tabouret,
and I thanked God for two such levelheaded women as her and MissChermside.
I told
my wife to get some sleep, and just a little before dawn I lay down beside
her.
We
were awakened about two hours later with news that several hundred troops
were approaching from the railway line.
I
went out on to the balcony that overlooks this side of the palace. My wife
followed me on bare feet, sleepily. My three little daughters were
awake (they always wake to the daylight like sparrows) and
I saw their excited faces pressed against the window glass, I motioned
to them to get back, and they waved cheerfully at what they imagined was
my greeting.
The
advancing troops gave no signs of attacking. Their leading officers
were signaling reassuringly, and one of my ADC's said, "These may be
the reinforcements from Cairo, Sir!"
(Story continues
next week)
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