On awakening, the next day, my first conscious thought was that I would be missing all the excitement up in Scotland. However, it turned out that nothing was missed as only A and C Squadrons went, 'B' Squadron's trip having been cancelled at the the last minute.

During the stay in hospital, both the care and treatment given by the nurses could not have been better. There was one embarrassing moment though. As a naïve twenty-year old, when asked by a very attractive nurse "Do you want a bottle?" I replied "No thank you, not in the middle of August, I'm warm enough." Thereafter, whenever a nurse posed the same question to others, it gave rise to much ribald comment such as: "Don't ask Chester, he won't need one until next month!"

I returned to the Regiment just in time to join 'B' Squadron on its way to firing range near Brancaster Staithe on the Norfolk Coast. On arrival, we found the range, probably much to the horror of its members, to be on the Brancaster Golf Course. For HQF Troop the main purpose was to get aquainted with and to fire the 6-pdr guns on the newly received Mark III Churchills. The target, at about 600 yards, was a small building with a chimney stack, that probably at one time housed green-keeping equipment. The gunners, firing three shots in quick succession, hit the target every time.

 Major Rew, who was in attendance, then offered a pound note  for anyone hitting the chimney stack with just one shot. After  all had failed the OC asked SSM Docksey to have a try. At first  the SSM demurred saying, as he was rather portly, that once he got into the turret it would require the services of a Scammell to get him out. Nonetheless, he climbed in, aimed, then fired to successfully leave the OC £1 the poorer. When he climbed out, without assistance from the REME (Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers) he was greeted with a rousing three cheers!

In September it became obvious, although not announced, that the mobilisation order had been rescinded. Leave recommenced and both day and 48-hour passes were freely given. Although there were many field exercises held, the atmosphere was more relaxed, so much so, in November, many of us were sent to help local farmers bring in their crops. Given the choice of harvesting sugar beets or potatoes I chose the latter. Although the work was hard they were great days made even more enjoyable as we received pay based upon the volume of potatoes harvested.

The nights were becoming colder as winter approached and many an evening was spent around the stoves, in the Nissen huts, cooking this that and the other. A popular place to go on a one-day pass was King's Lynn, just south of The Wash. On one occasion, Glyn Collard and I decided to go and see a film at the local cinema. Before going in we purchased bags of skinned chestnuts from a vendor who had a barrow outside. The idea was to keep them until getting back to camp where they could be roasted on the stove. Glyn saying he was feeling hungry ate the contents of his bag while watching the film. When the time came for my purchase to be roasted came a horrific discovery - the chestnuts were infested with creepy crawly things. Glyn excused himself and went away to upchuck!

Towards the month-end came the news that the Regiment had been ordered to relocate to a camp in Suffolk. So Dick Hayward and others drove their tanks to Thetford Station where they were loaded on a London & North Eastern Railway train Ipswich bound.