Jesse Hubbard

Jesse had 2 kids at the time. Her husband was in Lincoln at the football. She was in a bungalow and looked out and saw water so got a ladder and carried the kids and a cake up into the false roof. The sea was practically covering the cooker. She prayed that the next tide wouldn't come up any higher because she could hear furniture washing around. She carried the kids with water around her waist the next day and went to the Shipmans where the Monks family were as well. They were eventually rescued by the army.

John Monk

John Monk with some of his toys from 1953 Only 5 at the time so didn't fully understand the horror of what was happening. Remembers coming back to Mablethorpe on the bus. They had only been in the house for two weeks. The water started to come in and his father tried to stop the water coming into the house by putting a piece of wood in front of the door. The lights all went out and they decided to evacuate so set off wading to friends, wading in the dark on his father's shoulders clutching his teddy bear. Spent the night with the local bank manager (Jesse was there as well) The following day they were rescued by the army and he remembers seeing the bus he'd got off stuck underwater.

Brenda Major

She was married with twins at the time. Lived on a farm a mile from Sutton.

Brenda Major "All day there was a tremendous gale blowing. The water came in and kept coming - could feel the carpet rising up, the lights were all out. In that moment you don't know, you've seen pictures on the news of people perching on roofs etc - very scared. Put lots of clothes on to keep warm and got into bed. All night there was a thump, thump against the wall from things moving about in the water. As daylight came and looked out of the window all we could see was the sea, very rough and absolutely everywhere. All the calves, pigs, sheep etc drowned."

John Mountain

John Mountain On the night of the floods John (from Alford) was going to the Cinema, he had left his bike at a friends house and they had gone to watch the tide coming in before going to the pictures. As the tide came in the power went off so they decided the pictures would not be opening. They decided to return home but could not get their bikes because of the rising tide. They had to leave their bikes and walk. John’s family have been in the Mablethorpe area for 150 years. John at the age of 18 had to stay in Mablethorpe during the floods to help maintain the gas supply to the area. He worked with his father who was the boss and brother. John had to visit properties in the Sutton on Sea , Mablethorpe, to ensure the supply was turned off. He had to travel by boat in some areas to reach properties. At the time a lot of people had coin meters, these had to be taken away, just in case of looting.

Fred Turrell

Fred is now 82 years old. He has lived in Cleethorpes all his life. He went to the prom in the morning and all the cafes were full of water. The machines from the arcades were being smashed onto the prom and everyone was running to pick up the money - he made £3 which was a lot in those days! It did a hell of a lot of damage. There was more sand on the prom than on the beach. His four year old nephew lived on Suggitts lane and went outside. He was washed away before anyone could get to him. He would have been 54 now.

More experiences

What are your memories of the floods? Do you have pictures of that fateful day in January 1953? Share your thoughts by emailing lincolnshire@bbc.co.uk

See also: Flood advice | After a flood | Flood facts | Flooding then and now | Useful links | Pictures of the flooding