THE poignant story of an Accrington soldier who survived the First World War is being released this week to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme.

Jack Smallshaw fought at the Battle of the Somme, which began on July 1 1916, and kept a diary of his experiences throughout the First World War.

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Writer Steve Corbett has written a book based on Accrington-born Jack’s diaries with the help of the soldier’s step-granddaughter Louise Baird, after being put in touch with her through his publisher.

Jack volunteered on September 15 1914 and joined the Accrington Pals, surviving the Somme to also fight at the Battle of Oppy Wood in 1917.

He returned home to live in Warrington and met and married Mary Spence. His only son died during the Second World War while serving as a signal man in the Royal Navy.

In 2014, Louise began to transcribe Jack’s diaries after attempting to trace her family tree.

He never spoke to his family about his time in the war, but Jack’s diaries include accounts of soldiers going over the top of the trenches during the Battle of the Somme and the armistice.

Steve, who also lives in Warrington and is himself a former soldier, said: “All Jack’s actual entry for July 1, 1916 said was ‘we went over the top this morning’.

“There was a further entry that was dated July 1, 1916, but I suspect it was written on July 2 or 3, which goes into detail about the dead and wounded being brought off the fields.

“It’s very powerful stuff and it’s quite tragic what happened – there were 700 men and within a few hours about 580 of them were casualties, which is why the Accrington Pals became so well-known.

“Louise has transcribed these diaries and spent a few years doing it and I went through all the division’s diaries in the National Archives – there is a heck of a lot of hard work that has gone into this.

“I came across something in the diaries that I’ve never seen before which said that the Germans deliberately targeted the wounded and used the dead as target practice.”

An Accrington Pal: The Diaries of Private Jack Smallshaw – September 1914-March 1919 will be released this weekend to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the beginning of the Battle of the Somme.