The tide soon turned however, and the battalion was involved in some vicious fighting with the communist forces in early September before being evacuated on 10 September. It was in this short time space that Wheeler distinguished himself repeatedly in combat, gaining two awards for gallantry in the space of seven days. He received the Military Cross for an action on 2 September and shortly afterwards was awarded a Bar to his Military Cross for collective actions on 7, 8 and 9 September. The London Gazette citations for the awards were published on 21 January 1920 and read as follows: Military Cross Bar to Military Cross Wheeler was also honoured by the White Movement for his efforts, receiving the Order of Saint Stanislaus. Wheeler paid for these awards with his own pound of flesh, losing two fingers on his left hand due to a painful wound received during the fighting. By the end of the campaign Wheeler had again been promoted to captain. Inter-war years After returning from Russia, Wheeler spent a further 10 months in the army before deciding to leave for pastures new in July 1920, he was granted a small disability pension in compensation for the loss of his two fingers. Wheeler spent the next 10 years of his life in a variety of interesting jobs overseas. He spent a year working in the office of an Indian tea plantation, spent time labouring on an Australian sheep farm and took odd jobs in Rhodesia, eventually taking ownership of his own sheep farm in New Zealand. Wheeler agreed to the sale of this farm when he was offered a very favourable price by a gentleman who wanted a find a place for his son to live, some place where he could keep a low profile. The gentleman's son had supposedly been accused of committing "...a rather nasty crime". After returning home to England, Wheeler decided to spend a portion of the proceeds gained from the sale of his farm on a course of flying lessons at Heston Aerodrome. The missing fingers on his left hand evidently posed no hindrance as he soon gained his pilots licence and eventually gained a commercial pilots B Licence. This allowed him to fly passengers and make a living from flying as an airline pilot, this he did for the duration of the 1930s. Second World War By 1939 Wheeler was working for