Thursday 23rd January 1941

A hard day; but at last we had the exchange dug-in, roofed and snug with all lines OK. 'Tis a good pit, this, the best we've had. At one end (it's about 8 foot by 4 foot 4 inches with a 2 foot recess) is a shelf of earth with a box cupboard on which the set stands – lines running out to it's rear – and with room for one man to sit beside it. The shelf part is about 3 foot deep, the rest being 4 foot and altogether five men can sit in the pit. Enough for a round of cards, anyway! One enters by dropping down into the recess. No dust is caused that way. The hole is sand-bagged all the way round the top and is roofed by the green sheet supported on cross-pieces of wood so that there's no sagging. There's just enough space for a man to sit upright and just enough fall from the switchboard for the plug leads to hang taut.

The war is far away now; I don't think Iti is any nearer than Derna at the present. It is rumoured that they'll be plenty of water while we are here; I had a wash tonight. We're bivouacked right away from Tobruk. No loot here.

Midnight to 4a.m. shift on the exchange. I've opened “The Penhales” where I had to leave off when we moved to the battle position.