70th Anniversary of the 1953 Floods.

The floods of 1953 are one of the UK’s worst natural disasters. Caused by a combination of a high spring tide and gale force winds over the North Sea, it claimed over 300 deaths on land and 200 at sea.
 
The events of the night in February 1953 remain in people’s memories and in the film 'Floods of Memories', local residents of Aldeburgh and Orford at that time recount their personal stories on camera.
 
The film charts the chronology and pathway of the storm. Poor communication systems at the time undoubtedly contributed to the catastrophe and although they are now improved, the Alde and Ore estuary community must prepare for another surge, as at Snape in December 2013 when 26 homes and 2 pubs were badly flooded.
 
In 2020, Public Health England issued a report demonstrating the evidence of the destructive effect flooding has on the mental health of entire communities. The threat of a future flood is just a bad storm away.

An extract from 'A Room Worthy of the Town'

Written by Amanda Davies in 2016, for Aldeburgh Jubilee Hall

 31st January 1953 will live forever in the memories of those who were there. The catastrophic East Coast flood hit Aldeburgh at round 10pm while people were relaxing at home or enjoying themselves at the Jubilee Hall's Saturday-night dance.

At around midnight, Sgt Bird of the Aldeburgh police, arrived and ordered everyone to evacuate the building. One older resident remembers being determined to carry on dancing and "get her money's worth". She and other intrepid revellers eventually had to be carried out through the rising water by men from the lifeboat crew.

Servicemen and women were immediately ordered to communities up and down the East Coast to help with the clean up and carry out emergency repairs to sea defences. Help for Aldeburgh came from members of the United States Airforce who had returned to Bentwaters Airfield at the height of the Cold War in 1951. The men quartered in the Jubilee Hall, for which the Management Committee were later paid £200, as compensation for loss of rental earnings. Flood relief dinners were held by The British Legion and the Liberal Association after the troops had moved out.