Don Tinker, 81, knows little of his father's war experiences because, like most former Diggers, it was not discussed in family circles.

"Dad only talked about the funny times, not the sad ones," Don said. "When his mates came around they talked about the war, but not much to the family."

The former gasfitter enlisted in August 1915 at the age of 26, swearing the oath to "well and truly serve our Sovereign Lord the King in the Australian Imperial Force . . . and to resist his majesty's enemies".

Records show he embarked on the HMAT Wiltshire in November 1915 as a driver with the 4th FAB.

In the same regiment was another Warrnambool man William Claude Barker, who also had a brother Stanley in the war.

Unfortunately, the first few years of Leslie Tinker’s military service overseas are hazy and we have to wait until the 1918 diary to get a glimpse of life and death in France.

However, James’ diary, which is now in Canada with his nephew Neil, shows he landed in Suez before arriving in France in 1916 and was involved in action from April that year.

Some of the entries in James’ 1916 diary give a chilling account of the Great War’s horrors.

For example August 16: “Aust casualties at Posiers said to be 16,000” and September 12: “This is the place for big gas shells and rats”.

Then October 30: “We walked all the way (Longuend Somme) carrying blankets in mud up to our knees and water up to our waists. Put in a cold and wet night. A terrible experience, a regular hell”.

November 4 was no better: “I was peeling spuds for dinner, a shell lobbed alongside me and gave me and the spuds a mud bath”.

He came close to death two weeks later on November 18: “Fritz shelled us heavy. I got hit on the top of the head, bent in my tin hat, knocked me silly for a few seconds”.

Their stomachs must have been rattling if the 1916 Christmas day meal was anything to go by. James’ diary records: “Cold, wet. The rations for 6/7 men for 24 hours were two loaves of bread and one tin of jam. Les Smith got a parcel and we had a small piece of cake”.

James, a gunner with the 10th Battery, 4th FAB, was wounded but remained on duty in September, 1917, only to be killed by a German shell 10 days later.

There’s a January 7, 1918, entry in Les’ diary which says: “Letter from Geraldine saying heard that Jim was wounded” and two days later “Letter from Dad saying he heard Jim was wounded not killed”.

However, on February 14 he received a letter with a bereavement notice of Jim’s death.

Only two days earlier he had a letter saying his brother Steve had a piece of his leg removed after a bad wound.

Les didn’t get time to mourn the loss of his brother because the action continued day and night, as the April 24, 1918, entry explains: “In the afternoon we were livened up a bit with a heavy bombardment from the Hun, kept it up all through the night with a lot of gas”.

And the following day: “4am, working with gas masks on which is very strenuous”.

And there were many close calls like August 1: “Early this morning woke up with gas fumes. Had a very busy day ducking and dodging.”

That was just before switching hos role from driver to gunner for the major offensive.

August 7: “Midnight, ready at outskirts of Villiers Brettoneus (sic) to start the stunt”.

And August 25: “shelled us after dinner, had a narrow escape, bombs through the night”.

And October 2: “Bit of skin off my thumb, lots of gas through the night”.

But even though death and danger were all around them the Aussies still enjoyed their sport, as the May 10 entry shows: “Fritz dropped a few bombs fairly close this morning. A cricket match between us and 12th, latter won”.

There was no fanfare for his 29th birthday as the July 20 entry indicates: “My birthday, raining heavily, not much doing our way, but French and Americans doing well on their advance”.

After the armistice was signed and the guns fell silent life must have become a bit boring, or safer, judging by a few diary entries reading “played footie and won . . . ditto”.

Not long after the war Les was involved in another notable event when he and brother Steve helped rescue survivors from the Nestor as it sank in the Hopkins. They received Royal Human Society medals for bravery.

For most of his peacetime working life Les was caretaker for the former town hall, city offices, museum, library and art gallery, which were where the Warrnambool Entertainment Centre now stands, and lived in the caretaker’s house off Timor Street.

He took up bowls and often the brothers would holiday together around a bowls tournament in northern Victoria.

When he died at the age of 74 his skin colour went black. “It must have been from the mustard gas he copped during the war,” Don said.

He said his dad’s little diary with its claret-coloured cover will probably be given to a museum for future generations to appreciate the sacrifices made by Aussie lads from far-flung places like Warrnambool.