MOVING accounts from the diary of a Thelwall soldier fighting in the First World War are set to be turned into a book marking the 100th anniversary of the battle of the Somme next year.

Young Jack Smallshaw volunteered on September 15, 1914 and joined 'W' Company, 11th (Service) Battalion, the East Lancashire Regiment - also known as 'The Accrington Pals'.

He kept a diary throughout the conflict until he was demobbed in 1919 but it was only last year his step granddaughter Louise Baird began to transcribe the historical notes after attempting to trace her family tree.

She added: "My mum gave me an old rusting tin box with everything I needed including birth certificates and his diaries.

"I decided to do something with them but it was not easy as it was tiny handwriting and mentioned places I had never heard of in France.

"I did a bit of research so I could start to transcribe them and typed it out just for the family initially until I saw an advert from publishers looking for diaries and thought maybe they were too important to history to just be sitting in my house in a box rusting away."

The accounts include soldiers going over the top during the battle of the Somme as well as the armistice.

Louise, who lives in Stockton Heath, said her granddad never spoke about the war and said it was 'quite a shock' to read what he had gone through.

The 69-year-old was 11-years-old when Private Smallshaw died but said he was always very kind, gentle and cheerful.

After returning from the war he lived in Latchford where he met and married Mary Alice Spence, a widow with five children.

Tragically his only child Jack died during the Second World War while serving as a signal man in the Royal Navy.

She added: "I don't think the diaries were written for him as he wouldn't need a reminder of what happened as it was all imprinted on his memory; he wanted them to be read."

The task of compiling the diaries had been given to former soldier and local author Steve Corbett, who has previously had his own account published from his time in Northern Ireland during The Troubles.

He added: "My job is to fill in the gaps between the diary entries.

"I never experienced anything like what they went through and it's been very moving to read."

AN excerpt from the diaries reads:

SAT July 1st/16: At 7.30am the order was given to advance.

Every officer and man of our battalion got over the parapet and advanced as if they were just on parade.

In this advance our battalion lost heavily, between 500 and 600 killed and wounded.

Our Company Commander Captain Livesay was killed in the German trenches.

About 20 officers were killed and wounded.

The same night and for two or three following nights, men were crawling back off 'no man's land' either wounded or half dead with exhaustion to our trenches.

There were hundreds of casualties and consequently all could not receive immediate attention.

The 13th Yorkshire and Lancs Regt did splendid work in stretcher bearing and first aid for all they came into contact with.

It is hoped the book will be published in 2016 to mark the 100th anniversary of the battle of the Somme.