THE LYNTON FLOOD

WELL NO-ONE KNEW WHERE ALL THE WATER CAME FROM ON THAT FATEFUL DAY
BUT IT CAME DOWN LIKE A WALL AND WASHED THE HOUSES AWAY
SOME POOR FOLKS WERE DROWNED AND SOME POOR FOLKS SURVIVED
AND TO THIS DAY NO-ONE KNOWS THE REASON WHY
THAT WATER RAN SO FAST AND HIGH

THE NIGHT OF THE LYNTON FLOOD

MY DAD WAS JUST A BOY OF TWELVE, DIDN'T LOOK HIS AGE
IN A PHOTO TAKEN THERE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE
THE ROAD BENEATH HIS BYCYCLE WHEEL JUST SLID AWAY
AND THE HOUSE BEHIND DISAPPEARED INTO MUD AND CLAY

I WAS THERE IN '76 WITH ANOTHER BUNCH OF KIDS
ART STUDENTS DRAWING WITH CHARCOAL STICKS
WHEN I SAW THE MONUMENT HIGH UP ON THE WALL
SHOWING WHERE THAT FLOOD POURED THROUGH

THE NIGHT OF THE LYNTON FLOOD

Dad on his Co-Op delivery bicycle in Long Wittenham

 

Based on true story of my father and his step-brother visiting North devon in 1950's just before the tragic Flood Disaster of the Lynton and Lynmouth Flood in 1952.

 

The small coastal town became known throughout the world for the disaster which struck in August 1952. On the night of the 15th, after continuous rain throughout the day, the rivers of the East and West Lyn rose suddenly and filled with the waters from their Exmoor catchment. Large boulders and rocks were carried in the flow towards the village, destroying houses, roads and bridges. Many lost their lives during that dark and terrifying night. The whole of Exmoor was affected and considerable damage was caused on the Barle, Exe, Heddon and Bray but the worst effects were at Lynmouth