Events to mark 50th anniversary of the Wray flood

A parish council is hosting a series of events to mark the 50th anniversary of the flood that wrecked havoc in the village.
Roeburn Bridge after the Wray flood of August 1967Roeburn Bridge after the Wray flood of August 1967
Roeburn Bridge after the Wray flood of August 1967

Wray Parish Council’s heritage group will be holding an exhibition of the story of the flood, with dramatic photographs and contemporary newspaper reports, plus recordings of memories on August 8, open from 10am.

Alongside this there will be an exhibition of drawings and poems from local schoolchildren, showing their impressions of and thoughts about what happened.

This will be running until Sunday.

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As part of the exhibition, the heritage group organised an oral history project, where children from Wray with Botton Primary School interviewed older residents who had experienced the flood.

The interviewees will be at the exhibition, so that people can ask them questions themselves.

At around 5pm, the same time that the water-wall hit the village, the group will launch a small flotilla of paper boats made by the children on the Roeburn river and to have a river-blessing, remembering those affected and giving thanks that no-one was hurt.

In addition, the Parish Council has supported resident Rod Everett, whose parents lost most of their farm during the flood, in his successful bid for Lottery Funding to hold a complementary event at the weekend - August 12 and 13.

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The two-day event will look at the disaster from an ecological perspective, and include various events such as guided river walks, works by various artists, and the making of a new film about the Roeburn.

Tamsin Hartley, of Wray Parish Council, said: “There are still a lot of people who were affected by the flood still living in the village who can share their experiences.

“The flood smashed the village apart and broke up families as some people could not bear to come back.

“We wanted to do show them we still remember them and we want to bring the community together.”

See the Lancashire Post on August 2 for a Retro feature on the floods, featuring memories of residents.

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