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| 1953 Flooding in Essex |
The Prime Minister (Mr. Winston Churchill):
I beg to move,
That this House desires to record its deep sympathy with
the Governments and peoples of the Netherlands and Belgium in the
personal suffering and material loss inflicted on them by the
unprecedented violence of the sea on the night of 31st January to 1st
February, 1953, and its approval of the practical measures of assistance
which have been extended by Her Majesty's Government in the United
Kingdom; and further offers warm thanks on behalf of the people of the
United Kingdom for the spontaneous generosity of friendly nations within
and without the Commonwealth which has been freely proffered for the
relief of the hardship and loss suffered by so many of Her Majesty's
subjects on that occasion;
And that this House, deeply moved by the calamity which
befell this country on the same night, records its sympathy with all
those who suffered bereavement, injury or material loss by tempest or
flood; takes note of the declared intention of Her Majesty's Government
to treat the catastrophe on a national basis; welcomes the welfare
measures to mitigate suffering and distress and the measures to repair
the damaged sea defences which were put in hand; acknowledges with
gratitude the unremitting labours, during and since the disaster, of
local and statutory authorities, police forces, voluntary organisations,
and civilian workers, including voluntary workers; pays tribute to the
magnificent work done by members of Her Majesty's Forces and the Forces
of her Allies; and pledges its support in seeking the solution to the
problems left by the disaster, many of which are recognised to be of a
long-term character.
The shock felt by the whole nation on hearing, for the first
time, of the great storm which swept over the North Sea coasts during
the night of 31st January has been followed, as the toll of tragedy and
devastation has been counted, by a surge of deep concern and sympathy
for all those who suffered. It is that sympathy and concern, especially
for the relatives of those who died, which we wish to put on record
today. We are resolved that the nation shall do everything within its
power to make good the
distress which this sudden disaster has brought to so many
thousands of our fellow countrymen. We cannot restore or repair
everything that is lost, but we shall seek to combine the generosity of
the individual and the resources of the State so as to replace as best
we may the homes and the furnishings which the seas by their invasion
have destroyed.
Great as our own afflictions have been, the thoughts of the
British Empire turned throughout these days to our neighbours in the Low
Countries, whose ordeal was far harder than our own. I am indeed glad
that our Armed Forces were able to lend their help to the people of the
Netherlands, whose courage and resolution have again proved worthy of
their famous past. We and they, too, have been encouraged and sustained
by the generous and spontaneous offers of help which have poured in upon
us from overseas. They have not only come from countries in our own
Commonwealth and Empire, which have never failed us in our hour of need,
but from peoples and Governments of many other lands.
Finally, we remember with gratitude and admiration the many
thousands who worked day and night to bring relief to those in danger
and distress—the Armed Forces of the Crown, the police, the local
authorities, the Red Cross and St. John, the Civil Defence
organisations, mustering at once at the sound of the alarm, the Women's
Voluntary Services, most effective and intimate, the Salvation Army and
the Church Army, and all the magnificent voluntary organisations which
we never called upon in vain.
Then there are a vast number of unknown, but not less
honourable, individuals who have shown themselves willing to prove that
they are good neighbours in the hour of need, and who will unite or are
capable of uniting effectively in good planning to prevent a renewed
disaster. All engaged in this showed once again in various ways the
quality and strength of our civilisation.
from the House of Commons debate on 19th February 1953, in
Hansard vol 511 cc1456-580
