LAUGHING, excited children tucked into their burgers with gusto - their smiling mothers proudly looking on. An everyday scene perhaps, but there was a real sense of relief and genuine happiness permeating through the children's chatter.

This was the moment when these Army families - who have had to put their lives on hold since the start of the war in Iraq - can once again look forward to resuming a life more ordinary.

On Sunday, amid the red and yellow corporate branding of McDonald's, the strain had lifted from the faces of the partners of soldiers serving with the Catterick-based 1st Queen's Dragoon Guards.

The reconnaissance unit, originally told to expect to serve six months in the desert, will begin the journey home in the middle of next month.

"The mood is ecstatic," said Maria Botsford, who is expecting her fourth child within weeks.

She was one of the wives and partners who attended the family get-together at McDonald's, in Catterick Garrison.

Michelle Thomas, Hazel Taylor and Ute Page all agreed they had been brought much closer together over the past few weeks.