Plaque marks centenary of floods that took child's life

On May 20 1910, a raging torrent surged through Driffield town centre causing mayhem and a toddler's death.

Vivid eyewitness accounts of the flood told of a furious storm breaking over the Wolds which caused houses to vibrate and later "a merciless downfall of hail" which left the streets several inches deep in stones "many as large as pigeons' eggs".

Driffield Beck overflowed and spread out across 200 yards, flooding houses to a depth of about six feet. Bridges were swept away and people were evacuated by boat.

The plaque remembering the "Great Flood" will be hung at the town-council owned Cass Hall, on King Street, as part of an remembrance ceremony on Friday May 21. Children from Driffield Infants School, who have been working with Human Compass Theatre Company, will take part in the event.

In readiness, East Riding Council's archives and local studies service is displaying archive photographs held at the Treasure House in Beverley.

During the flood, Dora Whitehand – aged one year and 11 months – drowned at her home in Providence Place on May 20.

Burial records, also held at the Treasure House, show that she was the daughter of Thomas Whitehand, a local labourer, who laid her to rest four days later.

Collections officer Sam Bartle said: "It is fitting that there is soon to be a plaque in commemoration of this flood and the death of Dora, and here at the archives we can also play our part in making sure that the memory of her short life is not forgotten."