Book Review: The 1953 Flood Disaster

The 1953 Essex Flood Disaster – The People’s Story.  Patricia Rennoldson Smith. (The History Press, 2012)

As a timely commemoration of the 60^th anniversary of the 1953 flood, Smith’s book offers an extensive collection of memories from survivors and victims, providing a graphic account of the impact of the flood along the Essex coast.  The chapter order follows the route of the storm surge, covering each town and village affected, starting with Harwich, Jaywick and Canvey Island and Benfleet, receiving greater attention, and the details of the night are presented chronologically.  The day or hours before the fateful night are sometimes mentioned, although most frequently Smith moves straight onto the moment the flood struck, and how the people reacted to it, providing a good balance of stories of heroic efforts, tragedies, and light hearted moments, all of which bring home the impact of the event on people’s lives.  Whilst the accounts are mainly limited to the initial rescue and recovery, this helps emphasise the scale of the disaster and enormous efforts carried out by the emergency services, such as the police and fire brigades, voluntary organisations, such as the British Red Cross and Women’s Royal Voluntary Service, and members of the public, often after being rescued themselves.

Smith uses many previously unpublished photographs and recorded memories to tell these stories effectively.  These normally include extended captions or quotations from the survivors in the body of the text, which help provide a strong picture of the impact of the flood on the individual residents.  When these accounts are collected, they truly present the people’s story, and show that whilst the impacts an rescue and recovery efforts varied between areas, the flood will never be forgotten in the towns affected. 

The use of photographs, cartoons and maps are also well placed, with captions which link them to specific incidents or memories mentioned in the text.  These help visualise the extent and scale of the disaster.  Also included, at the end, is a very powerful list of those who perished during the flood, listing their ages and the roads in which they died.  This helps demonstrate that all ages were vulnerable, although the young and elderly were particularly at risk. 

A well recorded bibliography is included for those who wish to pursue the subject further, and the captions for the photographs, cartoons and maps are accurately referenced.

To conclude, Smith’s well-constructed book is intended for those with a general interest, but it is also a brilliant stepping on point for those wishing to explore the 1953 flood further.

This review originally appeared in the Spring 2013 edition of the Newsletter of the Essex Society for Archaeology and History, and was written by a history student at the University of Essex.