Felixstowe woman Jean Macpherson's new book headlines list of events planned to commemorate 70th anniversary of 1953 North Sea floods

The launch of a new book detailing the harrowing 1953 North Sea floods will headline a list of events planned to commemorate the disaster's 70th anniversary.

Jean Macpherson's book, 1953: Never To Be Forgotten, recounts the testimonies of over 50 people to create an account of how the storm surge affected Felixstowe, including colour photographs.

Its launch will precede several events to pay homage to the survivors – and those from the town who died – in the UK's worst flood of the 20th century.

A chapter was dedicated to the 41 people who lost their lives on the evening of January 31 to February 1, 1953, as water ripped through the town's streets.

The 69 year-old, whose siblings and parents survived the flood, said: "I wanted to tell the story so that it wouldn't be forgotten – we're getting to a point now where, within a few years, there may not be many survivors left.

"I often find that many people outside of Felixstowe, or other places affected, do not know the disaster happened, so I want people to know, and to remember the 41 lives lost."

Taking place at Felixstowe Library on January 28, the book launch will be accompanied by a special memorial quilt at a commemorative exhibition, displaying photos of those who died, or who gave their accounts for the book.

It sits next to artefacts from the flood, newspaper cuttings covering the disaster and book reports.

Other items include a high-chair recovered from the Bushnall family home, all of whom, including two-year-old Keith and six-month-old Brenda, perished in the floods.

No child has sat in the high chair since, at the insistence of Jean Bushnall's father, Tom Beyton, who was a night-watchman at the time, and rescued several people.

Also on display is a Bible presented to St Mary's Church, Walton, in memory of five-year-old Margaret Johnson, who also lost her life.

A spokesperson for Felixstowe Town Council said her brother Christopher and parents survived after their wooden prefab house was destroyed.

However, Margaret died of hypothermia, they added.

The book will be available to buy from Ms Macpherson herself, Nick Barber Auctions, or Stillwater Books.

Other events planned include a church service at St John the Baptist Church in Orwell Road on January 29.

Attendees can expect music from the period, excerpts from survivors' reports, and the reading of the names of the 41 people who died.

January 31 marks the 70th anniversary date.

From 10am, a service will be held at Langer Road Primary School, which was flooded in the disaster.

The primary school contains a memorial to those lost.

From 6pm, a procession of lights starting from the memorial service will travel along the streets of Felixstowe's west end, where many of the lives were lost.

In addition, Felixstowe Remembers has made a sign for each area or road where people died.

The occasion will be book-ended by bell tolls at St John's church.

It is estimated that 307 people in England died in the floods.

The surge was thought to have been caused by a mix of high winds, atmospheric pressure, a storm and spring tides.

The 'forgotten disaster', as Ms Macpherson called it, led to a major rethinking of flood defences as sea walls were breached nationwide.

Ms Macphearson said between 600 and 700 people were left homeless in Felixstowe alone, recovery took weeks, and people had issues redecorating houses due to the salt water and contamination for decades afterwards.

The storm surge took about seven hours to travel from Aberdeen to Kent, she revealed.

Ms Macphearson, who worked as a teacher and is currently joint archivist at The Felixstowe Society, noted the book was written to hear the accounts of everyone, and that, despite the disaster, it wasn't all doom and gloom.

She added: "Many of the people I spoke to would have been children at the time, and I was touched to hear stories of pets or Christmas gifts and toys that were recovered, which helped them cope.

"Many of these people carried this burden into adulthood, and were only now telling the story for the first time decades later, and I believe this has helped in some way to get it off their chests."