Wednesday 25th June 1941

It's been a hot afternoon but the tobacco ration has just arrived – not the usual tin of camel dung and sand but 2ozs of Craven Curly Cut in a Tru-vac tin. Made by Carreras Ltd London, “famous for quality since 1788”. And “each of the little Curly Cut discs is a complete blend of several different kinds of Fine Selected Leaf”.

Ah! ecstasy! I'm smoking a pipeful of Craven and I've just drunk a cup of Chi, nice and hot. And half an hour ago, a dozen RAF planes appeared here and flew majestically towards the enemy lines, watched breathlessly by everyone. What more could one want for a contented mind, in the Fortress of Tobruch?