BEFORE 18 was established as "coming of age", a 21st birthday was regarded as the milestone in life and usually a memorable event.

Roy Cunliffe, now living in St Helen's Lancashire, has good cause to remember his celebrations 50 years ago.

"You could say it was a great occasion but also a wash-out" he said. "January 31, 1953, was the night of the floods. And I was enjoying a party at home with family and friends.

"Our house was at the top end of the High Street, so we copped it from the canal and the sea.

"The party was in full swing and we had no idea how bad conditions were outside until the flood waters whooshed in. Everyone rallied to help move furniture, including a piano, into upstairs rooms.

"That piano was my mother's pride and joy and had to be saved!"

Roy recalls that in the following week teams of men formed "sandbag squads" and others took out rowing boats to deliver food and water to people marooned in their bedrooms.

"It was quite a sight to see boats being rowed down Clyde Street, James Street and Delamark Road. People lowered baskets from the top windows to take in supplies.

"What struck me was the community spirit and the resilience of flood victims to accept their lot," he said.

"By comparison I was pampered. Somehow my mother managed to produce marvellous meals cooked on a single gas ring in her bedroom.

"We had people camping out upstairs party guests who couldn't return to their own flooded homes in Sheerness, and family members anxious to return to St Helen's."

Roy left the Island shortly after the floods to live and work in Lancashire following the closure of Pilkington Sheet Glass at Queenborough.

"Subsequently I joined the RAF for National Service during which time I lost contact with friends in Sheppey.

"It seems to me that the 50th anniversary of those devastating floods could be a good time to re-establish contact." Roy sent us his 21st birthday photograph which had been taken less than two hours before the sea wall was breached.

The birthday boy is seated in the middle on the left of the picture. His friends included Olive Coxhead, Joan Deavall, Paddy O'Connell, Harry Booker, Marie, Grace and Olly Bryant, Ronnie Webb, Pam Castle, Pam Belsey, Shirley Harvey and a Mrs Eltham.

Roy, remembering events before the flood, said: "My guests were girls who lived and worked locally, and the boys were in the Dockyard. Our link was a passion for football. We played together in the Sheppey League for teams such as Sheet Glass, Victoria Club, West Minster and Sheerness East. Dave Irving was a splendid winger for Sheppey United and Maidstone, and Paddy was an exceptional diving champion."

Ron would dearly love to hear from old friends. He can be contacted at 1 Broom Road, St Helen's, Lancashire, WA10 3BU.