A remarkable piece of Australian war history has been handed over to the State Library of New South Wales.



The handwritten diary of a World War One soldier details his life on the frontline before he died in the Battle of the Somme in 1916.



Australian diggers were banned from keeping diaries, but 25-year-old Gunner Norman Pearce took no notice, neatly writing down the harsh reality of life on the western front.

"He was obviously studying and following the war on a variety of levels, as someone on the front would be doing, and that's what gives it particular value," said The Trust Company CEO, John Atkin.



He left Australia in May 1915 serving in Gallipoli and Egypt before heading to France.



There he described warfare in the lead up to the battle of the Somme.



"Our boys were terribly cut up in the last charge and thousands of dead and wounded are lying between the trenches."



He wrote about politics and about mateship, but he also made less serious observations.



"So far I haven't been particularly struck with French feminine beauty. There are some especially pretty girls but on the whole don't come up to Australians."



The diary, about the size of an iPhone, will be transcribed and available online in the coming months.

Dr Tracy Bradford, Head of Manuscripts at the State Library of NSW said: "It's absolutely amazing, its small it's something that he would have kept close to him."

Experts say the diary is in a remarkably good condition given its age and the distance it has travelled.



Pearce was buried in France, his diary returned to his niece in Australia.



When she passed away, it was found in her home by a trust, who called the family.



Pearce was wounded in action at the Battle of the Somme in November 1916 and was taken to a field hospital where he died the following day.



His last diary entry reads: “We've been packing all day.”

Watch Andrea Clarke's report on YouTube