Whitstable's oyster industry shaped the town's past

Photographs by local historian Wallace Harvey will be archived and stored online.

He documented Whitstable's oyster industry and people - and floods in the 1950s which overwhelmed sea defences and made thousands homeless.

Chairman of Whitstable's annual oyster festival, Mike Harrison, said: "It is essential information is not lost."

The pictures of the floods are just a tiny bit of it - they are a photographic record which, unless it's taken care of, will very soon disappear Cllr Mike Harrison

He said: "So many people love Whitstable from all over the world.

"Wallace Harvey and people like that are absolutely essential.

"The pictures of the floods are just a tiny bit of it - they are a photographic record which, unless it's taken care of, will very soon disappear."

Wallace Harvey's work already forms part of the collection at Whitstable Museum, which will work on the project with Canterbury Cathedral Archives.