Felixstowe teddy bear flood survivor taken to memorial

Carol Norden and her teddy called Jennifer escaped from their flooded home in Felixstowe in 1953

A teddy bear rescued from flood water which engulfed a Suffolk town 70 years ago was taken to a memorial service.

In Felixstowe 41 people died in the flood on the night of 31 January, 1953.

But the four generations of Carol Norden's family, all living in the same house escaped and her beloved bear, Jennifer, also survived.

Ms Norden, who was only four at the time, clutched Jennifer as she attended the town's memorial service.

The Suffolk town succumbed to flood water from the North Sea, as did many other communities across the east coast of England.

The coastline was hit by the worst flooding in living memory with 307 people killed, 24,500 homes damaged or destroyed and more than 30,000 people evacuated.

Carol Norden - then Carol Josey - is pictured on the right, with her sister Ann

Ms Norden - then Carol Josey - lived in Felixstowe with her older sister Ann, her parents, grandmother and great grandmother.

Recalling that night, she said: "My mother woke just after midnight and panicked when she looked out the window and saw the water."

She said her father "kept watch on the rising water up the stairs - thankfully it stopped three steps from the top".

She recalled how, aged four, she had felt "bewildered".

Her family home was opposite a number of prefabricated properties where there were "people on the roofs, crying for help".

A tidal surge broke through the flood defences at Felixstowe

A plaque commemorates those who lost their lives in Felixstowe during the 1953 flood

She said as the water receded in the morning, her father went downstairs to a scene of devastation with the door broken open and the windows smashed.

The family made their way out, spending the first night in a workshop before going to a house across town, where they stayed with the occupants.

"It was such a terrifying time for everybody," Ms Norden said.

"But we were lucky - we had a house - and we survived."

Jennifer is a boy teddy bear, Ms Norden said

Ms Norden said her teddy, called "Jennifer", a boy bear, was a present from my grandmother for her fourth birthday.

"I'd left him downstairs the night before... it was Jennifer that I was most worried about.

"But when my dad went downstairs, amongst all the wreckage the settee was floating and Jennifer was on it."

She said she had attended all the flood memorial events with her bear.

"He's my overriding and earliest memory of that night."

A service took place at the memorial in Felixstowe

Ms Norden attended a remembrance service at the Felixstowe Flood Memorial in Langer Road.

The memorial was recently refurbished by the town council in readiness for the 70th anniversary of the 1953 flood.