In November 2019 the small South Yorkshire farming village of Fishlake gained national notoriety as the River Don, swollen by unprecedented rainfall, overtopped and flooded a huge swathe of land, including over 170 homes and businesses.

As a result of that environmental disaster and in order to send a big thank you to all those who came to our aid, the people of Fishlake have decided to document their experiences of this significant historical event in the form of a book.

The aims of the book are:

1. A heartfelt thank you:

Firstly, a chapter will be included in the book dedicated to thanking all of the local and national communities, groups and organisations that rallied around and aided the people of Fishlake in their hour of need, as recognition of the invaluable help and support those parties and individuals provided to the people of the village. As a show of gratitude and respect for that support, copies of the book will be sent to all of those who came to the support of the residents so badly affected.

2. Financial support for the hardest hit:

Secondly, the book will serve to generate a revenue stream with all profits going to those villagers experiencing financial hardship as a result of the impact of the floods.

3. A historical record:

Finally, the book will serve to bring together all the stories from around the village and information about this significant event in order to create a historical record of the occurrences of 8th and 9th November 2019.

The content is being sourced and compiled by many of the villagers themselves, with the design and artwork being created by the graphic designer who originated the idea, and whose home was one of the many impacted by the floods.

The book will be produced, printed and published from the monies that you donate, supported by grants that have been made available for this purpose, including over £6,000 kindly donated by the South Yorkshire Community Foundation. Except for the printing, promotion and purchase of press photography, all the time and work required to complete the project is being done so voluntarily.

Despite most of the volunteeers of the project still dealing with the damage to their own homes and with some even having been relocated many miles away, the team set to work early in 2020 to create the content for the book. With hindsight, it has proven to be a much larger and more time-consuming and challenging task than was originally envisaged. Even during the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns, the work has continued in order to create this historical record and is still ongoing to this day.

We would be very grateful for your support and donations in order to realise the aims of this project We, therefore, ask that you please give generously, at what we all recognise to be a challenging time for everyone.

Finally, our heartfelt thanks go out to you, for all your support and generous donations which will enable this project to become reality, it is hugely and warmly appreciated by all involved.

Many thanks.

To find out more please visit: www.fishlakefloodbook.co.uk