Hundreds of war letters from four Southland World War I soldiers have been transcribed by volunteers and digitised for a new website created by the Invercargill City Libraries and Archives.

It took the eight volunteers over two years to transcribe the combined total of 1700 pages in the more than 300 letters from Charlie McIntyre, Ernie McIntyre, Len Shepard and John Hall.

The website – www.sincewritingyoulast.co.nz – also includes information about the soldiers and digitised images of the letters.

Invercargill Public Library’s Archivist, Rebecca Smith, said the project was their way of commemorating the centenary of World War I.

“The website lets you discover first-hand the experiences of these men as they served our country in The Great War,” she said.

“The website will be online for 10 years. It will not only provide students with a primary source at their fingertips, but will also be of interest to historians, military enthusiasts and adults in general,” Ms Smith said.

The website will be launched today (1 March 2017) at at 6pm in the Invercargill Public Library’s Meeting Room. To book phone (03) 211 1573 or email rebecca.smith@ilibrary.co.nz