Hartley Palmer, who landed at Gallipoli on Anzac Day, 1915, tried in vain for years to retrieve his diaries from Peter Liddle.

Families who have been fighting for decades for the return of Great War diaries held under lock and key in the United Kingdom have been given a glimmer of hope.

Leeds University holds the diaries of 14 New Zealand soldiers who thought they were lending the documents to British military historian Peter Liddle when he came to this country on a research visit in 1974.

One veteran, Hartley Palmer of Nelson, publicly appealed for the return of his Gallipoli diary, but died never seeing it again. His daughter, Margaret Kearns, has continued the family's crusade.

MARTIN DE RUYTER / FAIRFAX NZ Margaret Kearns of Stoke Nelson with a copy World War One (WW1) diary of her father Hartley Palmer.

Other families have also maintained the diaries were only ever loaned to Liddle. The material is now in the Liddle Collection at the university and even the New Zealand Government has failed to get them back.

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Liddle has claimed the diaries were willingly handed over.

PHIL WALTER/GETTY IMAGES Poppies are the symbol of Anzac Day.

After a Stuff investigation, Leeds University has confirmed it does not hold a "depositor agreement" – a standard legal document when any treasured antiquities are given to a museum or private collection.

An overjoyed Margaret Kearns said on Friday: "Well, it seems like there's some hope for us, doesn't it?

"This is what we've been saying all along. Our family never had any documentation."

MARTIN DE RUYTER/FAIRFAX NZ A copy of a page from World War One diary of Hartley Palmer.

And there is a precedent. Today we feature the story of Henry George Hunter, who volunteered at the outbreak of the Great War and served for the duration, winning the British Gallantry Medal. Liddle took Hunter's diaries of Gallipoli and the Western Front back to Britain, but the veteran's family fought successfully for their return.

Leeds University said in a statement: "Peter Liddle began collecting in the 1960s and it was not unusual for material to be collected from individuals without the type of depositor agreement that we would take for granted in museums and archives today, so we consider each request on a case-by-case basis and examine all evidence very seriously."

Margaret's husband, Graham Kearns, added: "I'm a bit surprised that they've actually admitted to that, because I thought Liddle might have had a case to bring up against some of those accusations that he's been getting but according to him from what we've read he owns the copyright of them now."

MARTIN DE RUYTER / FAIRFAX NZ Margaret Kearns of Nelson with a copy World War One (WW1) diary of her father Hartley Palmer.

Minister for Arts, Culture and Heritage, Maggie Barry has stepped in to to assist the families in their quest, and will seek advice from officials.

Barry said the items were a "last tangible link with their relations who fought so bravely in the First and Second World Wars".

WE SAY

OPINION: These diaries are precious records of a time when this nation came of age thanks to the courage and endurance of ordinary men and women.

The consistent concerns and anger surrounding the removal of those documents raise doubts about the 1974 acquisition process that cannot be ignored.

Yes, museums have rulebooks, and yes, transporting such fragile material is challenging. But as the National Army Museum says, where there's willpower there's a way.

Depriving the families of this precious historical link is a travesty.

These diaries belong back on New Zealand soil, where all present and future generations can be inspired by them.

Let's bring them home.