Held in the archive of the Devon and Cornwall Museum of Policing are a host of articles, photos and accounts of police history from across the two counties.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of the Lynmouth flood disaster on Friday 15th and Saturday 16th August 1952. This tragedy was one of the worst river floods in the UK, and sadly led to thirty-four deaths and the loss or damage not only of many dwellings but much of the infrastructure of the area. The events of the 15th and 16th August 1952 and some of the remarkable rescue stories will be explored in this article. It should not be forgotten that this disaster did lead to a tragic loss of life, and we would like to honour and commemorate those who died on those fateful August days.
9.1 inches of rain fell in 24 hours on the 15th and 16th August 1952 on the already saturated ground of Lynmouth and its surrounding area. 6 of these inches fell in just the evening, raising the water levels of already swollen local rivers. These North Devon and West Somerset rivers overflowed their banks and caused extensive and dangerous flooding. The river levels were said to have raised by 30 to 40 feet.
This photo is from a Police exhibition showing the flood damage. The exhibition featured images from newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Pictorial.
According to the BBC, “During August 1952, North Devon experienced 250 times the normal rainfall for the month, and on the day of the disaster, some 90m tonnes of water swept down the narrow valley into Lynmouth” . [1]
The Lynmouth flood disaster report 1952 states “The ferocity of the onslaught of the water was almost unbelievable”. [2]
The force of the water took with it whole trees and boulders downstream. Bridges became blocked with tree trunks and boulders, some of these were said to weigh as much as “25 tons”. [3]
This photo is from a police exhibition showing the flood damage. The exhibition featured images from newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Pictorial.
As a result, as The Lynmouth flood disaster report 1952 summarizes about Lynmouth: “In a few short minutes a holiday resort having an estimated population approaching 2000 was rendered uninhabitable and a great part of it was swept into the sea”. [4]
In all, thirty-four people died in the flood, with twenty-eight dwellings and eleven other buildings destroyed. The flood caused irreparable damage to one hundred and forty-three buildings, nine road bridges and seven footbridges. In addition, fourteen other bridges were damaged and nineteen roads (including an A road) became impassable. A total of ninety-four cars, lorries, caravans were washed out to sea. Seventy-five vehicles were submerged, and nineteen boats were swept out to sea.
This photo is from a Police exhibition showing the flood damage. The exhibition featured images from newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Pictorial.
The rescue conditions were extremely challenging. At 7:30 pm all electric light failed. Thus, the only light came from the lightning of the continuing storm. The torrential rain and loud noise of the rushing flood waters meant verbal communication was impossible.
Communication by phone was very difficult, and by 2am all phone contact with Lynmouth became impossible. Many areas became cut off as roads were impassable with flood water. It is difficult to fully comprehend the severity of the conditions on those August nights in 1952. These words from the police report highlight the challenging situation that faced the rescuers on that evening: “Torches flashing from the bedroom window of other buildings indicated that many people had taken refuge upstairs “. [5]
This photo is from an exhibition of police history showing the flood damage. The exhibition featured images from newspapers such as the Daily Telegraph and the Sunday Pictorial.
Nonetheless the Lynmouth flood disaster report 1952 details some outstanding rescue work. Indeed another source describes that the police force on the ground became “overnight leaders of men”. [6] One of the constables carried on his work despite not knowing if his wife in the flooded area was safe.
On the night itself, the sergeant at Lyndon was on annual leave and the senior constable was on his weekly rest day. It was the two remaining police constables, one a probationer and the other with six years’ service, who played a large part in the rescues. The rescue operation was also aided by the fact that many of the inhabitants had sensed something was wrong and had not gone to bed that night.
Here we will describe just one set of these outstanding rescues, which involved one of the constables and six firemen. They had been turning back to Lynmouth in a tender when they reached an underwater Barbrook bridge. They heard cries from a middle-aged woman who was “up to her neck in water in a cellar”. [7] She was trapped by floating packing boxes and so the constable and one of the firemen had to go deep into the water to save her. The constable also tried to cross the flooded bridge at the end of a rope. He had to be winched to safety when the bridge started to collapse while he was on it. The Lynmouth flood disaster report 1952 details that the West Lyn River was a “raging torrent” [8] by this time.
The rescue party were directed to go on to Lynmouth. They were only able to do this with some of the party clearing the road in front of telegraph poles, boulders, trees, and wires as they progressed slowly. They reached Lynmouth at 3am and were able to rescue people from a couple of upstairs properties using ladders to the upstairs windows.
The constable realized he should report in their position. He climbed in through the Lyndale hotel and managed to cross the broken Lyndale bridge to reach the town hotel. Here he found 100 people sheltering for safety. The proprietor loaned him a car and with the chef he was able to reach the AA phone box in Porlock. The torrential rain meant the car was only able to drive at 5 miles an hour.
This brave constable was the only constable on the east side of the flooded West Lyn which was completely cut off. His subsequent decision that the hotel was unsafe and needed to be evacuated meant that 90 to 100 people were evacuated to safety. This constable finally went off duty at 8pm on Saturday 16th August 1952.
The bravery of all the rescuers is acknowledged in the The Lynmouth flood disaster report 1952: “all of them …took risks that might easily have been fatal to them.” [9]
Moreover, the following awards were made to the police in recognition of services rendered during the disaster: four individuals were awarded a Kings Police and fire service medal, a George medal and two British Empire Medal (Civil division).
In an article written by Lt. Col. R. R. M. Bacon, Chief Constable of Devon in the Police College Magazine 1952 and reproduced in the book ‘Out of the Blue’ in 1957 details that “Some eight hundred people were evacuated by rescue and by transport provided by any vehicle-owner who could get his vehicle near to the flood”. [10] Others were said to have made their own way out.
Officers on parade receiving awards for work during the Lynmouth Floods, 16.08.1952-20.08.1952
It must be remembered that the Lynmouth flood disaster sadly led to the loss of thirty-four lives. To honour those who lost their lives on 15th and 16th August 1952, we would like to dedicate this article to their memory.
Read more: Devon and Cornwall police history: Unsolved crimes and criminal investigations
References
- ^ https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/news_features/2002/lynmouth_flood.shtml
- ^ The Lynmouth flood disaster report 1952 p1
- ^ Article written by Lt. Col. R. R. M. Bacon, Chief Constable of Devon in the Police College Magazine 1952 and reproduced in the book ‘Out of the Blue’ in 1957
- ^ The Lynmouth flood disaster report 1952 p1
- ^ The Lynmouth flood disaster report 1952 p5
- ^ Article written by Lt. Col. R. R. M. Bacon, Chief Constable of Devon in the Police College Magazine 1952 and reproduced in the book ‘Out of the Blue’ in 1957
- ^ The Lynmouth flood disaster report 1952 p38
- ^ The Lynmouth flood disaster report 1952 p5
- ^ The Lynmouth flood disaster report 1952 p41
- ^ Article written by Lt. Col. R. R. M. Bacon, Chief Constable of Devon in the Police College Magazine 1952 and reproduced in the book ‘Out of the Blue’ in 1957