MCC wrote:
On the night of 30/31 January 1953 there was a screaming gale of NW'ly wind
around the Northern Isles which caused a storm surge down the North Sea
causing serious flooding along the East Anglia and Kent coasts and across
into the mainland Europe low-lying coastal countries accompanied by
considerable loss of life.
I was a 13 year old boy growing up in Orkney at the time and remember it
very well.
-------------------------------------
My friend was a six year old living on Canvey Island. His and my local
Newsapaper have a large spread on it and an interview with him. His
father was a fireman on the Island and it was only in recent years he
could talk about it and even then not some of the things he witnessed.
Of course it was a relatively small closely knit community. Some
incredible storiess in there and one of the underlying ones was the
number that died from the cold as well as drowning.
Dave, S.Essex