Heavy rain in winter and spring always flushes considerable amounts of debris into the River Wey and here we see men from the Thames Water Board at work clearing branches from the river as it passes through Gostrey Meadow, Farnham, in the spring of 1953.

It appears this was an annual event that the Herald photographed and on this occasion there is another image taken near Hatch Mill, which at the time was the home of Farnham Sanitary Laundry.

Today, presumably this is the task of the Environment Agency. The town is fortunate that the river course through the centre was considerably enlarged in volume in the 1970s following the last floods in 1968. As a result, perhaps, such regular clearance of the channel is not as vital as it was when these photographs were taken.

Looking at the scene today the river channel has a lower bank where the men are standing and that is part of those vital works. The footbridge had to be replaced to cover the greater width too and some of the trees had to be felled. Also visible in this photograph in the left background is the large motor workshop of Heath & Wiltshire, then the largest garage in Farnham.