A WARTIME mum’s extraordinary account of life on the Home Front in Dorset has been published after her forgotten diary was unearthed.

The late Phyllis Walther’s chronicle of the first hand effects of the Second World War is based on her life as a WVS volunteer in the county between 1941 and 1942.

Her sons John and Julian Walther had no idea of the existence of their mum’s diary until they were contacted by a husband-and-wife duo of Canadian historians.

Patricia and Robert Malcolmson came across the diary in the Mass Observation Archive in Sussex University.

Fascinated by Phyllis’s account of looking after evacuees and organising hand-knitted comforts for troops, the Malcolmsons contacted John, 73, of Marshwood, and Julian, 67, of Swanage for permission for the diary to be released.

Julian said: “The first John and I knew of the diary was in 2007.

“I think my mother’s diary was chosen because she had a fairly concise style.

“My only reservation was that my mother was a fairly shy person.

“I didn’t think she would want a great hullabaloo.

“I had no idea what she had written and it was extraordinary to read it for the first time.”

Particularly moving for Julian was Phyllis’s account of discovering she was expecting him.

“There was quite some poignant detail in there and she said she was very glad,” he said.

The diary was officially launched in Dorset County Museum in Dorchester.

Mention is made of the county town throughout Phyllis’s diary, as she leaves her home in Blandford to attend regional WVS meetings in Dorchester.

Julian thinks that Phyllis’s book makes an entertaining and informative read.

“I am biased, but I think it’s a real page turner. I was pretty captivated and not just because it was my mother,” he said.

“Her style and sense of humour comes through and sometimes she could be controversial – I was intrigued by that.”

Phyllis passed away in a nursing home aged 96 in 2002.

Julian said: “She had quite a hard life but she was always very happy.”

Mark Forrest from the Dorset Record Society, which published the book, said: “This was a particularly readable and clear diary.”

• Dorset in Wartime – The Diary of Phyllis Walther is available from the Dorset County Museum or the Dorset History Centre in Dorchester for £12.50.