The groups are reprinting 60 photos of soldiers that were taken by Alexander Galloway, who had studios at Weston, Kurri Kurri, Cessnock and Maitland.

During World War I, Mr Galloway set up a studio at the Rutherford Army Camp, where the 33^rd and 34^th Battalions undertook their training, and photographed the soldiers before they left for the war.

Coalfields Heritage Group came into possession of the glass negatives after they were discovered beneath a house in Weston more than a decade ago.

Volunteers worked painstakingly to restore the negatives, about 400 in total, which were covered in dried mud.

Along with the soldiers, the photographs captured images of families, sporting teams and streetscapes, and are believed to be taken between 1908 and 1917.

All of the images have been uploaded to the group’s Flickr page, and were printed at postcard size and kept at the Edgeworth David Museum in Kurri Kurri.

Some were published in Greg and Sylvia Ray’s book Images on Glass in 2015.

Towns With Heart assistant secretary Bill Holland said the group would now like to reprint the photos and hold a public exhibition in the Diggers’ honour.

“We would like to print these photos, put them in frames and find out what became of these people,” he said.

“The odds were always against these photographs ever seeing the light of day again – the least we can do is do them justice.”

Towns With Heart took one of the negatives to Office Works Rutherford (which is coincidentally located very close to where the Galloway studio once stood) to test how large it could be reproduced.

The images were only meant to be postcard-sized – but it has blown up to A2 (42 x 59.4cm) beautifully.

The challenge will be sourcing information about the men pictured.

Of the 60 soldiers photographed, only seven can be identified, with their name and date appearing on the negatives.

The groups are hoping the community will be able to assist – thinking that many of the men pictured would have descendants living in the Hunter region.

“We hope the community gets behind us – we can’t do this alone,” Mr Holland said.

In the long run, Mr Holland hopes the photos could be permanently displayed in the Kurri Kurri area, and loaned out as a travelling exhibition.

Mr Holland acknowledged the assistance of the Coalfields Heritage Group in getting the project off the ground.

“We’ve got a great treasure here in Brian (Andrews, the group’s secretary-treasurer) and his team,” he said.

“It’s a great asset to the community.”

The images can be viewed in the World War I album on Coalfields Heritage Group’s Flickr page or at the Edgeworth David Museum, which is open Wednesdays and Sundays from 11am to 4pm next to Kurri Kurri High School.

With an estimated cost of $10,000, Towns With Heart will be accepting donations and sponsorship for the project.

Anyone with information on the soldiers pictured, or who would like to sponsor the project, can contact Towns With Heart on 4936 1909.