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Maira Gyte’s diaries highlight the experiences of war at home in rural Derbyshire as a mother waits for her son to return from the front.

Maria lived in the village of Sheldon and worked as a teacher. She married a local man and lived in the Devonshire Arms, a local pub and farmhouse.

Their youngest son Tony was called up. He arrived in Flanders in 1917 just in time for the epic Battle of Passchendale. Tony was killed.

Maria confides in her diaries her sense of loss and grief. Whilst coping with the loss of her son she chronicles daily life in the village - farm work continues despite the immense sense of loss experienced by her and her entire family.

Her grave still stands in Sheldon with an inscription on it for Tony – his body was left on the battlefield.

Location: Sheldon, Derbyshire DE45 1QS
Image of Devonshire Arms which was the Gyte family home
Image courtesy of Sheldon Village