This film is part of Free

Gill: The Tempestuous Years

Snow and floods hit Derbyshire during the wild 1960s.

Home movie 1966 20 mins Silent

From the collection of:

Logo for Media Archive for Central England

Overview

From the Big Freeze of 1963 to gales, landslides and, most memorably, the major flooding of December 1960 and November 1965 - local photographer Harry Gill was on the spot to capture these moments of extreme weather in Derbyshire. Motorists try to negotiate Crown Square in Matlock as waves of muddy water from the Derwent flow into the town. The streets seems eerily quiet as residents take to the largest vehicle available: a huge quarry lorry, to navigate the deluge.