Great Storm 1987

BBC Suffolk's request for memories of the Great Storm and its aftermath resulted in several stories from the Rendlesham area.

Similarities to War of the Worlds and Hollywood blockbusters were given, probably due to the fact that the level of devastation had never been seen in most people's lives apart from on the big screen.

Twenty years on and the forest is thriving once more.

There have been changes but there's little sign for the uninitiated that such a major event had occurred.

Simon with a survivor of the storm

Simon Leatherdale took BBC Suffolk to an area of the forest where visitors can see the storm's legacy for themselves, where a single pre-storm tree remains standing.

"We lost well over one million trees in the space of two hours," Simon says. "It took two years to clear it up, another two years or so to replant the area, and we're now sat waiting for it to grow so we can harvest it again."

Effect on wildlife

Amongst the doom and gloom came good news for two rare species of birds, with the prematurely felled trees providing an ideal habitat.

"Woodlark and nightjar, which are nationally rare birds, saw their population here rocket as a result because what they absolutely love is flattened areas in woodland.

"It became optimum habitat for them. The population has since come down but it's now part of our job to maintain suitable conditions for those birds."

In the video Simon talks about the manpower involved in the clean up operation, as well as how the Forestry Commission preserved the fallen trees to avoid swamping the market and thus reducing their monetary value.

Blessing in disguise

Simon himself had some fairly rough experiences of the storm himself and talks about how it's the only time he ever witnessed his boss close to tears. So it comes as a surprise not to hear him lamenting the damage caused by the storm.

"It's turned out to be a great event. We've learnt so much from it and from a conservation point of view it did so much good.

"We had several areas which were designated as low intervention, where we did nothing and they have been regenerated beautifully.

"So overall, looking back with the benefit of hindsight, I don't think it was a bad thing. We've learnt an awful lot and a lot of opportunities have arisen from it.

"That doesn't mean I'm looking forward to the next one though."