Remembering in God’s name: the role of the church and community institutions in the aftermath and commemoration of floods

This chapter focuses on the town of King's Lynn in Norfolk, south east England and the devastating flooding that occurred there as part of the widespread North Sea Floods of 1953. King's Lynn is a seaport situated on the tidal stretch of the river Great Ouse, close to where it enters the estuary and bay known as The Wash. The chapter introduces the details of the horrific events that began to unfold on 31 January 1953. It details how the floods affected King's Lynn directly and what role the churches played in the immediate disaster response and recovery of the community. The chapter explores how the floods were commemorated by the churches and other cultural institutions in the years and decades following 1953. Before turning to the 1953 floods in more detail, the chapter also focuses on the literature relating to cultural understandings of climate and weather, cultural memory, disaster studies and the commemoration of disaster in the United Kingdom.