This film is part of Free
Venice of the North
Not Venice, nor Amsterdam but Fleetwood in Lancashire, in the wake of a tragic flood disaster.
Overview
Amsterdam, Stockholm, even our very own Birmingham has enthusiastically been deemed 'the Venice of the North', thanks to their intricate canal systems. Fleetwood in Lancashire is better-known as a fishing port or seaside resort, but the analogy doesn't seem out of place in these incredible scenes of the 1927 flood disaster, as residents punt through the town in all manner of makeshift watercraft.
The film's comic title is actually rather insensitive considering the gravity of the disaster, which put 90% of the town underwater and claimed 6 lives. The rescue operation employed 70 small rowing boats in ferrying food and supplies to residents stranded on low-lying ground.
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