TAA iv.01.01
Several people are mentioned on this page, including: Sir William Garstin, Pierre Lacau, Reginald Engelbach, Albert Lythgoe, Herbert Winlock, Lord Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn Beauchamp (daughter of Carnarvon), James H. Breasted, Sir Alan H. Gardiner, Howard Carter, Alfred Lucas and Arthur Callender.
© Griffith Institute,
University of Oxford
CATARACT HOTEL.
March 3rd. 1923.
It seems a long while since the day of the opening, but
it might be as well to get my impressions on paper to keep as a
record.
In the first place, we scored a great triumph over the
newspaper men. They, for some reason, had got it into their
heads that we were going to make a secret opening without any
representative of the Government being present, so for three or
<16th> four days they hardly left the tomb. On the Friday they had
no idea anything was up. We fixed it for the afternoon so that
the tourists would be out of the way. Sir William Garstin and
two or three others came to join our lunch party but they came
straight, so were not seen arriving. After lunch we met by
appointment, Lacansic {Lacau}, Engelbach, Lythgoe, Winlock and two or three
native officials and then we all went in a party to the tomb.
The correspondents keeping their vigil above the tomb saw all of
a sudden the procession arrive from nowhere, and of course
realized what it meant, but too late to make any special arrange-
ments for sending messages off. At about 2.15 we all took off
our coats and filed silently down the stairway into the tomb –
Carnarvon, Lady Evelyn, Breasted, Gardiner, Carter, Lucas,
Callender and the others already mentioned – about twenty in all.
The tomb looked as though set for a stage scene. We had put up
boarding to pret/<v>ent {protect?} the statues which stood on either side of
the sealed doorway, and made a small stage to enable us to attack