Bring out war diaries, share indigenous story: Cosgrove Appeal for stories: Former Defence Force chief General Peter Cosgrove. Photo: Tony Walters Next year's centenary of World War I should be used to put the contribution of indigenous soldiers "into the spotlight," the former chief of the Australian Defence Force said. Speaking before Thursday's Anzac Day commemorations, General Peter Cosgrove also issued an appeal to the "ordinary men and women of NSW" to search out wartime diaries and letters to tell the story of the state's role in the war that claimed 58,961 Australian lives. General Cosgrove said the indigenous men who enlisted were magnificent soldiers and their stories had not yet been told. They were not obliged, of course, to serve. In fact ... they were discouraged from serving but so many of them volunteered," he said. It wasn't an act that they contemplated as being somehow subservient to the government of the day; the reason why nine out of 10 joined up was to be with their mates. More than 1000 indigenous soldiers fought in World War I. General Cosgrove revealed that the new memorabilia would be used to produce a book to be published during the 2014-2018 centenary commemorations, to tell the story of the role NSW played in the conflict. NSW sent more soldiers to the war than any other state. "We are looking for the diaries and letters that reflect on the impact to the community and the impact on those men and later men and women at the front, whether in the Middle East, Flanders or at sea," he said. There are so many people [who] served for Australia that the stories that presently abound are the tip of the iceberg ... We will notify them about how to lodge that material in a place where it can be assessed and read by other people. General Cosgrove, who was chief of the Defence Force from 2002 to 2005, said any items people have under the bed or in the attic are their property but "we don't want it to remain hidden if it might have significant interest to the rest of NSW." He said the state government would work with the NSW State Library, the Mitchell Library and the State Records Office to bring together the stories. Robyn Van Dyk is the head of the research centre at the Australian War Memorial, where thousands of letters and diaries are held. She said World War I took place at the height of letter writing, and every new document added to our understanding. "You can go through all the official documents that you want but to know what it was like and what it felt like and what it smelt like, they're the diaries and letters," she said. The federal government website and a NSW site will be available to guide people on how to make their material accessible. with Sarah-Jane Collins