Forty-one people died in Felixstowe during 1953 east coast floods | What's New in Suffolk

Forty-one people died when Felixstowe was hit by the 1953 east coast floods. This picture shows the Langer Road area. Picture: ARCHANT

Helen Oxenbury Treasures the memories of her Felixstowe childhood, but remains dismayed about some of the changes that have happened since.

In the 1950s, the wooden Pier Pavilion was a delight – and very close to the home on South Hill.

It hosted dances on Saturday nights. Sometimes she'd go. If not, "I used to listen to the music from the big-bands. I used to wait until I heard the national anthem, and then I'd hear people come out to the car park and the slamming of doors, and that would be it for another Saturday. "

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I reminded Helen of a letter she wrote to us in 2006 – devastated at the way Felixstowe had (in her eyes) lost the atmosphere of a quiet Edwardian resort and surrendered many distinctive buildings.

The railway station building had been gone, and it was horrified on an art deco house on Cliff Road.

"The concrete block that replaced the pier and the monstrosity in place of the Pier Pavilion [the leisure centre and pool] were the start of the downhill slide. The area is now ugly and tacky, "she wrote.

The expansion of the docks and the growth of homogeneous housing estates had been eroded the town's character. It was akin to killing the goose that lays the golden egg.

Today, her sense of dismay remains, though with a slightly resigned air.

"I worry about it, because it 's pointless, really – but they have been ruined so much of Felixstowe." Now, when in Suffolk, Helen rarely visits the main part of the town, because she does not what's been done? "It's called progress or something …"

The Pavilion, Pavilion, and Martello Park at the southern end: grbad, playgrounds, wildlife areas, nearby homes and more. It does cheer her up a bit – and her are well known to be the revitalized gardens are.

The cruel sea

Talking to Helen Oxenbury about recent changes at Felixstowe West End reminds of an awful night in 1953.

"There was a hotel up there. I did not remember what it was called, but I was at a dance and my father came to collect me. On the way back we noticed the waves were putting water on the roads. We got home, but it was the night of the terrible floods. "

Forty-one people died in the city during the east coast floods – many unawares as such defenses have been breached.

"The next day – you have a kid, go looking – there were these deadly pigs all over the place. We were up on South Hill, so we were OK, but all the shops below were flooded. "

Today, the family's boathouse at Felixstowe Ferry bears a mark showing how high the waters reached 65 years ago. The building, already on stilts, was raised after the floods.