Memories
of '53
by
Bert Ruck (1909-1995)
The attached
pictures have recently appeared in the Whitstable Times (9 May and 16
May 1991 issues). It is the
terrible night (January 31st/February 1st 1953) when the sea flooded
parts of Whitstable (you were then only 18 months old). I thought
perhaps you would like to share my memories of that traumatic night and
subsequent events.
As was my
custom at the time, I had been down the Marine on the Saturday evening
for a few jugs and arrived home about 10.30 - walking up Fitzroy with
friends and remarking that the wind seemed very strong.
It did not
seem I had been in bed very long before there was a thumping on the
front door. It was our Special Inspector (Mr. Cadle) calling me out. He
said that help was urgently required as quite a large area of the town
was flooded. It was
apparently caused by a high tidal wave sweeping down the coast whipped
up by a gale force wind.
Hurriedly
getting into my uniform and putting on my wellies, I got my bike out and proceeded to pedal off down Northwood
Road only to be met by flood water at the junction where the sea had
rushed through Beach Walk bringing a boat with it.
|
Beach
Walk in 2002. On that fateful night in1953, sea water poured
through through the gap and carried a boat into Tower
Parade. |
The water
was quite deep and the boat was at that time flooded to its gunwales.
To get past, it was necessary for me to ride along the high
pavement at Tower Parade...
|
Above:
The raised path at Tower Parade pictured in Dec 2004. In 1953,
this provided a route through the flood of water. |
.... and so to Bexley Street and the Police
Station with the water at this point almost covering the front wheel of
my bike.
|
Above:
Bexley Street in December 2004 with the old police station
building on the right. This was itself at the heart of the
flooding with a steep slope down from Harbour Street in the
background. |
On
reporting to the Police Inspector in charge (Mr. Coe), I was sent to the
top of Nelson Road to assist in the evacuation of people from Nelson
Road and Cornwallis Circle. This operation could not be fully
implemented until rowing boats had been gathered from wherever possible.
Some
residents did not wish to leave their houses but preferred to stop in
top floor rooms. The people that we did ferry out were taken to The
Boys School in Oxford Street which had been turned into a rest centre
and reception area and was manned by the St. John Ambulance, Red Cross
and Ladies Volunteer Groups who provided comfort, warmth, hot drinks and
hurriedly prepared sandwiches.
One
particular incident I was involved in at this period was the removal of
a young woman from a house in Nelson Road.
She was pregnant and had started labour pains.
We managed to slide her out through a window, down a ladder and
into the boat and then hurriedly rowed to the top of Nelson Road where
she was transferred to a Land Rover and taken to St. Heliers Nursing
Home to the great relief of all concerned and no doubt her own!
At this
point, I took a breather
and had a sandwich and cup of tea. After this, I was instructed by Chief
Inspector Tebay (who had arrived from Canterbury to assume overall
control) to take several trainee policemen (sent from police training
school) down to Island Wall.
The only way
to reach Island Wall was to walk along West Cliff and across the golf
links via the Causeway path.
|
The Causeway in
Quieter Times - April 2004 |
The wind was
still at gale force and the water on the golf course quite deep so it
was quite a struggle to cross without being blown off the path into the
water. However, this was accomplished and my small band of very young
men deployed to various points to help those who wished to evacuate to
the end of Nelson Road to be ferried up to the Rest Centre.
At about
1.00 p.m., I was relieved to have a meal and managed to dash home to
give mother the news and have a good Sunday lunch. It was then back to
help where required - eventually going home at about 10.00 p.m.
During the
day, various groups arrived from all over the county to help. First to
arrive was the good old Salvation Army with a mobile canteen which they
were able to set up in Island Wall near the junction with Waterloo Road
and, from there, dispense hot soup and sandwiches to stranded people and
helpers alike.
The Fire
Brigade also arrived with a good many pumps and men to start pumping out
water from people's houses and wherever required.
They also brought their own mobile canteen which they set up at
the Horsebridge to feed their own men and anybody else who wanted
it.
The work of
course went on for some days and, then, men from the RAF were brought in
with mobile blow-drying machines to help dry out the houses.
For myself
and other specials, we were required to perform anti-looting patrols
each evening for about three weeks. A
great many beach huts, particularly along Island Wall and Faversham Road
had been torn from their foundations, carried inland and, of course,
smashed up in the process and so, were easy prey. It was a case of
doing your own days work, going home to tea and then patrolling in pairs
until about 10.00 p.m.
I remember
walking in company with Charlie Cambell on two nights along Island Wall
and Preston Parade to the Old Coastguard House in Faversham Road almost
to the Sportsman Pub. However, the period passed and things gradually
returned to "near normal" although some properties still show
marks where the water reached.
These are
some of my own personal memories of that traumatic time and I hope you
will find them interesting reading.
By
Bert Ruck 1991
©
Graham, Claudia & Thomas Ruck
|
