HIGH water was on the rise and almost threatened to drown the sky this weekend as Storm Callum blew like a demented bugler and caused merry havoc.

Yet for those long enough in the tooth and advanced in years to remember, the recent elemental barrage was but a drop in the ocean compared to the Great Mill Street flood of 1931 which wreaked absolute devastation on the town.

Which leads us nicely to this splendid picture sent in by Chronicle reader Tom Dodd.

It pictures a clean-up operation in the immediate aftermath of that momentous watery deluge of 88 years ago.

Just check out the fashionistas in the picture as all and sundry lend a hand to get old Aber pumped, flushed, and high and dry again.

As you can see the Monmouth Road had been pretty much decimated by the Gavenny and doesn’t the Swan Hotel look different?

Mr Dodd’s grandparents were Mill Street residents Mr and Mrs Poulson, who along with their 16-year-old son Tom and 11-year-old daughter Doris clambered through a hole in their ceiling in a desperate bid to escape the rising water.

After the flood Mr Poulson told the Chronicle, “I have seen many floods but I have never experienced anything like this. We were caught like rats in a trap. When I saw the wall by the garage go crashing down and saw the flood of water rushing at us, I thought, ‘O God, it is all over.’ We broke a hole through the roof and we stayed there during the early hours. It looked as if it was all up, and my little boy said, ‘We will all go together.’”

They didn’t and thankfully the family survived. Which is just as well because Doris would later become Tom Dodd’s mother.

Tom was born in Mill Street in 1941 and you can read all about his experiences of growing up in a vanished but colorful part of the town in a future edition of the Chronicle, but for now enjoy this photo of a little blast from Abergavenny’s wild and wet past.

If you’ve got any engaging and striking pictures or stories from the past send them to [email protected] or ring Tim Butters on 01873 852187 (30).