Monday 2nd November 1942

9a.m. The attack went well. We may move forward at any time. A gap was made through the minefields in their second line of defence, and our armoured stuff has been going through that gap since 5a.m. Their counter-battery shooting, in the early hours of this morning was pretty near the mark. A couple of our trucks were damaged and in this Troop the Major was slightly wounded and one signaller was killed in his bed hole, near the exchange.

This was Jock Fleming. Wee Fleming of Glasgow, a rabid Scot, who was with me in “C” Troop and whom I knew to be one of the best. Now he's with the men of Bannockburn and Flodden Field – those battles he was always arguing about. “Wog” Gregory, Jack Tabor and the rest of the crew of “RC” have now been officially reported as “missing.”

12:30p.m. “519 Battery returns. Ammo expended in last 12 hours = 2466, Petrol = 66,... Killed = 1, Fleming J...”