heavy rain. The brigade's attack was soon subject to a "torrent of machine gun fire", and Peeler was severely wounded in his right arm. Initially evacuated to the 11th Australian Field Ambulance casualty station, it was decided that his wound necessitated treatment in England so he embarked for the Northampton War Hospital on 15 October, arriving the following day. While recuperating in England, the announcement and accompanying citation for Peeler's Victoria Cross was promulgated in a supplement to the London Gazette on 26 November 1917, reading: Recuperation and repatriation As news of Peeler's decoration spread, it prompted a "wave of celebrations" in his hometown of Castlemaine; flags flew in his honour, and one of his daughters was cheered by fellow pupils at her school. On 8 January 1918, Peeler was formally conferred with his Victoria Cross by King George V in an investiture ceremony at Buckingham Palace. Having sufficiently recovered from his wound, Peeler rejoined the 3rd Pioneer Battalion in France on 17 May; he was promoted to temporary corporal two weeks later. On 22 June 1918, Peeler was posted to the Corps Gas School for eight days. He was promoted to sergeant on 30 July. Around this time, Australian Prime Minister Billy Hughes invited Australia's Victoria Cross recipients of the war to return to Australia and assist in a recruiting drive. Among the group who accepted the offer, Peeler was one of ten who embarked for Melbourne aboard HMAT Medic on 24 August, arriving in Melbourne seven weeks later. He would not return to France; on 11 November 1918 an armistice with Germany was declared, effectively ending the war. Peeler was discharged from the Australian Imperial Force on 10 December. Inter-war years Following his discharge, Peeler gained employment with the soldier-settler branch of the Victorian Department of Lands. He remained with the department for six years, before acquiring an orchard in the Castlemaine district. However, this venture proved short-lived and he soon returned with his family to Melbourne, joining the H.V. McKay Sunshine Harvester Works at Sunshine. Also on the company's staff was a fellow Victoria Cross recipient, Dominic McCarthy. When Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance was completed in 1934, Peeler was appointed as the memorial's first custodian. He occupied this post for next 30 years, coming to regard the Shrine as "his second home". Second World War Enlistment and Syrian Campaign On 27 May 1940, Peeler enlisted in the