AN oasis of calm and peace in the heart of the area where 40 died and the floodwaters rose to their highest point will be a place to remember the victims.

AN oasis of calm and peace in the heart of the area where 40 died and the floodwaters rose to their highest point will be a place to remember the victims.

Three artists – Boris Cooper, Clare Curtis, and Rosemary Humphries – have teamed up to design the memorial to those who died in the 1953 floods at Felixstowe.

It is hoped the memorial, which will be sited in the corner of Langer Primary School's playing fields with access to the public from Langer Road, will be built this year.

The aim is to have a place where people can sit and remember and reflect.

It will take the form of a garden of sea plants, enclosed by a large wall shaped like waves with the height of the flood water – over six feet – marked near its top, with seats and smaller walls.

There will be mosaic pictures designed by the children of Langer Primary, and a list of those who died.

The focal point will be a four-sided metre-high obelisk, which will include a representation of a child being carried on the shoulders of an adult in the flood, depiction of waves breaking through the river wall, a stylistic representation of waves and a tree bending in the wind, capturing the images of the tragic night.

"We want it to be something that people can use, something that is part of and for the community," said Rosemary.

"The aim is for it to be a memorial and to be tranquil, but we do not want it to be morbid. There will be plenty of colour and texture.

"We also hope that it will evolve over the years in that the mosaics will be able to be changed, perhaps renewed and updated by future generations of the schoolchildren."