On Wednesday 20th June, after an absence of over two months I rejoined the Regiment which was harboured in and around Rimini - there was a lot of catching up to do.

Jimmy Wiggins, who had taken my place aboard Ballyrashane, gave me a full account of the last days of action during which she had come through unscathed, the only casualty being the "loss" of my axe! By way of compensation, Jimmy had a present for me in the form of a bunch of lire. Apparently, Ballyrashane had forced the surrender of a German "Gehalt Wagen" which was carrying lots of Italian currency that had been evenly divided between the crew as "spoils of war" - Skipper had insisted that my share be set aside until my return. As days went by, I learned that nearly everyone in the Regiment had "liberated" lire in varying amounts. Rumour had it that the Adjutant's brother, 'B' Squadron's 2 Troop Leader, had also come across two boxes containing a small fortune. Sad was the day when an order came down from Brigade that all holdings of Italian currency had to be handed in or else!

During my absence, the Mustang Rover Crew had been very active, including a two-day camp in San Marino which I was sorry to have missed. For details see pages 4 and 5 of the Crew's Anniversary Number Magazine. However, I was in time to enjoy the long-planned Anniversary Dinner that took place two days after my return. During my absence, four members of the Crew had volunteered for service with SEAC (South-East Asia Command. They and a few others, with Lt. WAL "Paddy" Reid MC in charge, were on their way to the UK for leave prior to being shipped to Malaya. Regrettably, I had missed the opportunity of saying goodbye to some very good friends!