FROM THE NEWSROOM: Remembering the heroes and victims of the West Norfolk floods of 70 years ago

Editor Jeremy Ransome looks back on the devastating floods of 1953...

I’m not a particularly religious person and, apart from the usual Christenings, funerals and weddings, I seldom attend church. But that’s where you’ll find me at 1pm today.

I’ll be joining dozens of others at Lynn Minster on the Saturday Market Place as we remember those who perished in the awful East Coast floods of 1953 and honour those who saved lives, some making the ultimate sacrifice.

It was 70 years ago this evening when that killer storm surge hit West Norfolk, killing 80 people, destroying hundreds of homes and displacing many others. With advances in coastal defences and weather predictions, such loss of life should never again be repeated, although who can predict Mother Nature when it comes to destruction, especially as Global Heating takes its grip?

My father’s side of the family originates from Snettisham and I grew up hearing tales of the fateful night. Indeed, my grandad was 40 at the time and was involved in subsequent search and rescue efforts in the village, which lost 25 inhabitants.

My grandad and my dad, who was nine then, often told me of the bravery of Snettisham teenager Peter Beckerton, who died in the floods. Nineteen-year-old Peter, who is buried in the village churchyard, perished while trying to save his elderly, invalided neighbours who lived in seafront accommodation. He could have escaped easily but gave his life for others, who sadly died too, and was posthumously awarded the Albert Medal for gallantry.

Fourteen other heroes from West Norfolk were also honoured, along with five American servicemen based at RAF Sculthorpe. These included Reis Leming and Freeman Kilpatrick, who are remembered to this day with a memorial at Hunstanton’s Esplanade Gardens.

We must never forget the heroes or the victims of 1953 and I’m delighted to help that cause with an eight-page memorial supplement in today’s paper.