and had an irrational faith in his many pills, and developed close friendships with his assorted medical advisors, so much so he was often in doubt whose advice to accept". During a visit to XXX Corps HQ near Benghazi on 21 November, he was struck down with excruciating pain and evacuated to a hospital in Cairo. The medical authorities recommended three months' sick leave in South Africa. De Guingand anticipated spending the rest of the war as a "base wallah" but Montgomery flew to Cairo to see him on 8 December and asked de Guingand when he felt he would be fit to join him again. De Guingand said he thought he would be fine in two to three weeks, so Montgomery went and spoke to the doctors and the medical board's verdict was changed from three months to three weeks. While on leave in Cairo, De Guingand married Arlie Roebuck Stewart, the Australian daughter of Brisbane businessman Charles Woodhead, on 17 December 1942. She was the widow of a fellow officer in the West Yorkshire Regiment, Major Hugh Dalzell Stewart, who had been killed in the Battle of Keren in 1941 and had been working in Cairo for an intelligence organisation. They had one child, a daughter called Marylou who was born in 1944, but the marriage ended in divorce in 1957. De Guingand returned to duty as chief of staff of the Eighth Army on 15 January 1943. He was advanced to Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 26 February "in recognition of outstanding services during the operations resulting in the capture of Tripoli" at the conclusion of the Western Desert campaign. When the first attack of the Battle of Mareth failed on 20 March, the Eighth Army was confronted by its first setback since Auchinleck had been replaced. Montgomery told his staff "Send for Freddie". De Guingand and Montgomery discussed what could be done to retrieve the situation and resolved to strengthen the left hook manoeuvre being carried out by the 2nd New Zealand Division (Lieutenant-General Bernard Freyberg). Air Vice Marshal Harry Broadhurst then came up with an innovative proposal to clear the way using fighters and forty light bombers. The attack was successful; the Mareth Line was breached and Gabès was captured on 29 March. For his part in the campaign, de Guingand was mentioned in despatches on 24 June 1943. Italy While