This video was filmed and produced by staff and pupils of Canvey Island
Infant School.
Led by teachers Mrs. Matthews and Mrs. Walker, the pupils first watched
the 1953 archive film and then talked about the floods and what happened
on Canvey Island.
The school has strong links with the local community and was able to invite
a local resident, Mrs. Swann, to visit the school to talk to the children
about her experiences as a flood survivor in 1953.
The children were spellbound as Mrs. Swann talked about her rescue and answered
many questions about the floods and the effect of the disaster on the local
community.
Later, the children were taken on a tour of Canvey to see the areas which
were most damaged and to understand how much of Canvey was rebuilt after
the floods.
They also met, and were able to interview, Councillor Ray Howard, who is
now in charge of Canvey Island’s modern sea defences. Councillor Howard
explained how the new defences work and answered questions about his job.
He was able to reassure the children that Canvey is now an extremely safe
place to live.
All these experiences were captured on digital video and then edited using
Moviemaker and Adobe Premiere software. Some of the original archive film
has also been used in Canvey Infant School’s video.
