IT is an iconic TV moment - BBC weatherman Michael Fish insisted there was no possibility that a hurricane would hit the UK That night, October 15, 1987, and the following day, parts of the country were devastated by the worst storm in generations.

This October marks the 30th anniversary of the Great Storm of 1987, and will see the release of a book called Windblown by Stroud-based author Tamsin Treverton Jones which documents that fateful day.

“The storm struck the British Isles without warning, uprooting more than 15 million trees, and is etched firmly into the nation’s collective memory,” she said.

“Not since the tempest of 1703, so vividly documented by Daniel Defoe, had the British Isles suffered a gale of this magnitude.

“High speed gusts of warm wind decimated swathes of ancient woodland, ships drifted in mountainous seas, chimneys collapsed and roofs flew.”

Thirty years on, the discovery of an old photograph of a sculpture designed by Tamsin’s father, the artist Terry Thomas, led to a moment of inspiration.

It was carved with the exotic wood of fallen trees from the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew, and inspired a journey into that landscape.

Tamsin weaves her own memories and personal experiences with those of fishermen, farmers, lighthouse keepers, sailors, sculptors and refugees.

“Windblown is a journey across cultures, continents and generations,” said Tamsin.

“Environmental lessons have been learned and the trees have grown again but some of those stories have yet to be told.

“Despite the devastation, the storm’s impact is now recognised by ecologists and environmentalists as a natural disturbance, beneficial to trees and to the landscape.

“Its legacy is a change in woodland management and in the way we care for the trees with which we share our environment.”

This lyrical memoir celebrates collective memory and the irrevocable damage that one night dealt the country.

Tamsin said: “If you’re over 30 you’ll remember where you were and have your own story to tell, if you’re under 30 you grew up in the landscape which that one night created.”

Tamsin is a writer and poet.

She studied French at Bristol University and went on to be head of press at the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Court Theatre and Bath Literature Festival.

She has produced and presented features for radio, programmed literary events for digital broadcast and published two oral histories for The History Press in Brimscombe.

- Windblown by Tamsin Treverton Jones is published on October 5 by Hodder & Stoughton.