"Will now close this first book as if we ever get away from here all our correspondence will be censored and I might not have another chance as everything points to our going very soon ... Godspeed till we meet again."
A century later Private Carrell's diary entries are being rewritten - by his grandson Mark Carrell on Facebook.
Mr Carrell set up the page A Soldier's Diary - Our Grandad - Egypt and Beyond and is publishing the entries in real time leading up to Anzac Day.
Private Carrell kept a diary from the day he enlisted and his grandson now has all but the last.
"These diaries relate to events from New Zealand to Alexandria to the Dardanelles and Gallipoli - where he was wounded, repatriated to Egypt and then back to the front lines in France," Mr Carrell said.
Private Carrell was a member of the Territorial Force from 1906 to 1913, and enlisted in the New Zealand Expeditionary Force in 1914.
He was assigned to the Canterbury Infantry Battalion and shipped out for World War I from Lyttelton in October 1914.
Mr Carrell said he decided to run his grandfather's diary entries to ensure his service to New Zealand was documented and recognised.
"I also felt a strong bond to grandfather as I served in the Territorial Force for 21 years," he said.
Mr Carrell has spent hours poring over the pages.
"I was intrigued by what I could read in the journal. I sit down some days and just try and decipher his writing. Believe me, if you see the real thing, you will realise it is not an easy matter. The writing is small script and on every line - filling it totally."
As he read, he researched each event written about.
He said the entries were important as they portrayed what life was really like for a solder.
"This grandfather is just an ordinary soldier ... it relates to everyday happenings, not just action commentary - long periods of semi-boredom following by intense action.
"I have many people interested in these documents. As we get closer to Anzac Day, I have more people coming to the Facebook page, random people."
Mr Carrell will read the pages that relate to his grandfather's landing on April 22 at Rodney College's Anzac service.
"As I work closely with Rodney College, I have been asked to assist them. I have a list of all the Wellsford casualties, and the pupils will research them and recite their names, places of death and dates of death.
"My role will be to recite the full ode, read an excerpt of [Private Carrell's] actual landing."
In that entry Private Carrell writes: "we will never forget this day".
Mr Carrell said Anzac Day had always been a huge event for his family. "I have been to [memorial events] since I was knee high to a grasshopper," he said.
"This is significant in all our lives. It happened, everyone was affected, never forget. We almost lost a generation."
Mr Carrell's father, Jack, is also a war veteran.
He was in the Royal New Zealand Air Force and saw service during the Battle of Britain and later in Burma during World War II.
"He was military minded, being a radar and radio operator, something he was very proud of. I have his diary as well," Mr Carrell said.
Claude Oliver Rangecroft Carrell
• From Sydenham, Christchurch
• Married to Mabel Ruth Burnside Carrell
• Territorial Forces 1906-1913
• Enlisted with the NZEF in 1914
• Private in the Canterbury Infantry Battalion Embarked from Lyttelton on October 16, 2014.
• To follow the journey of Anzac Private Claude Carrell through his personal diaries visit tinyurl.com/lrr8npb
• For the Herald's full Gallipoli coverage, go to: tinyurl.com/gallipoli100
