A former Harwich resident has said coastal areas have been forgotten in plans to commemorate disastrous flooding in 1953.
Former Colchester councillor Bob Richardson said a decision to hold a service at Chelmsford Cathedral in January, which will be attended by the Queen, should be held where the flood hit.
Next year will see the 50th anniversary of the catastrophic flood, which engulfed much of the Essex coast, when a freak surge tide inundated areas such as Harwich and Jaywick.
Mr Richardson was a 14-year-old boy living in Bathside, Harwich, at the time and said he still remembered the flood and the hardships that followed as thousands of people lost their homes.
The county council has decided to commemorate the events and remember the dozens of people who lost their lives with the special service next month.
But Mr Richardson said the Queen should have been visiting Tendring, where people still reflect on the disasterous events of 1953.
"Chelmsford is the seat of the county council and has a cathedral, but the people who will be reflecting on the flooding will have nothing.
"If the Queen is coming to Essex, she should be coming to Tendring."
Published Tuesday, December 17, 2002
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