August 1948 was an exceptional month. There were 90mph gales in Belgium, snowfalls in Switzerland and in the Scottish Borders one of the heaviest rainfalls ever in one day, while the Tweed received more than a third of its annual rainfall in only six days. The flood plain of the Tweed could just about cope with the deluge, but smaller rivers such as the Tyne at Haddington, the Biel, the Blackadder, Whiteadder Water, Rivers Till and Eye were disasters...