Memories of previous cold winters

I wasn't around in 1947 but I think that was the worst, asn't it? I remember my mum & dad saying that 1963 wasn't as bad as '47, when you couldn't make out the roads and lanes because the snow had overtopped the hedges.

1963 - I don't remember missing school at all, even though it was an eight mile bus trip, through country roads. We used to start lessons as as oon as we got in, work for the morning, then after lunch (I'm not sure if we got a hot lunch or not) we'd all go and sit at 'exam desks' in the hall and start on our homework and prefects would run messages from the road to announce 'Bus for such and such is here' and people would leave in dribs and drabs as the buses came for them. The bus wouldn't take us all the way home, we walked, slid the last mile and a half, often using our satchels as makeshift sledges.

1981 - I lived literally 2 houses from my daughter's primary school. She's just started, my son wasn't yet at school. I remember all of us sitting in Katie's classroom, with three or four kids who had arrived in, whilst the teacher .... dunno - made phone calls maybe? Anyway, I think school was called off after that morning.
I remember local radio announcing that a milkman would be in St John's Avenue at such and such a time, but would only exchange full bottles for empties - no hoarding allowed!

And 2010, I'll remember as the winter that stole my holiday

You must have memories that stick with you? Tell us

Re: Memories of previous cold winters

I don't remember that year but I do remember the bad one in 1963! I remember reading about a travelling salesman being caught out up in the Highlands and he put on all the ladies tights he had in his case and that saved him from hypothermia! He also had 1 bar of chocolate and a little water as well. His car was so badly covered with snow - no one could see it! I think he was eventually dug out of it! I remember working for Coats the threadmakers in Glasgow in the 80's and the snow was that bad the bus took from leaving here at 7.30 am until 11.00 am to get me to work! I then had to wade thru' the snow, which was over my waste in parts, to get to work. To add insult to injury, the personnel manager issued a memo to all staff saying we were to lose our flexi time for being late - nearly all office staff was late that morning! Well, I issued a memo to her and told her exactly what she could do with her directive! We were all going to walk out and not bother going back until the snow cleared up! She rescinded that notice!

Aw dear I have just noticed DM that you should be on your holiday!! That's awful that the weather has stopped you going!

Good thread!

Take care.

Re: Memories of previous cold winters

1956 was very cold, . . I remember coz I was doing a paper round at that time, it was so cold there were dead birds falling out of trees.

Re: Memories of previous cold winters

I remember the bad winter of 1963, it began just before Christmas '62. There was a blizzard over the south-west in late December which resulted in huge snowdrifts. Villages were cut off, power lines were down, farmers couldn't reach their livestock which resulted in many deaths. Food was short in the shops.

The snow lay on the ground for about 3 months and it was so, so cold. We didn't have central heating at home then, just a coal fire to warm one room. We used to go to sleep with coats on our beds to try to keep warm.

People still made the effort to get to work or school though, usually by walking.

Re: Memories of previous cold winters

I remember when I was a kid (in the 80s) and we had snow knee high - I loved it! Schools were shut and we just went out to play every day. I used to look forward to the snow every year. Don't know when all that changed and I started to hate the cold

Re: Memories of previous cold winters

Well spoke to my Mom and Dad who both recall the '47 and '63 winters, according to my Dad who was born in '29 the '47 was really really bad, but then they had outside toilets (brr)and in'63 too. My Dad worked in Ansell's brewery in '47 then and the hill to Ansells mean the horses could not get the carts up the hill they were slipping everywhere and it was man power that did it not horse power.

Apparently because in '47 the country was recovering from war already it seemed to my parents not as harsh as 1963 because no one had anything and the Country was used to "making do and mend" not moaning. My parents said by '63 they had a little more and no rationing which maybe made things easier. Dad was a window cleaner in '63 and doing the factories in B'ham with acid on the roofs he said jumping around up there then was a bit trecharous with the ice but they never thought twice...H&S apparently not as stricty then.

In 1947 my Dad recalls even fish (which was not rationed) being short as fishing vessels were trapped in port due to the weather. My Dad also thinks end of Jan it started properly but it was March he says that was the coldest, my Mom just recalls cold all through she would have been about 14 then. They both recall a shortage of coal and burning boxes and anything they could get.
Dad walked to work and recalls drifts of 1-2ft and having to wrap newspaper around his legs for insulation, then a pair of trousers more newspaper then another pair of trousers. He'd also wrap hessian sacks round his feet if he could get them but they were being used for fuel by March.


Where as in 1963 my parents were married and lived in B'ham city centre with my Dad's Mom (lots of young couples lodged with in laws it appears then) my Dad is convinced it was a worse winter my Mom was pregnant with me, and said she was still out and about everyone was apparently.

They both recall the canals froze in '63.

They both think '47 was worse, but everyone simply got on with it both times. Neither can recall anything closing in '47 or '63

Re: Memories of previous cold winters

I can remember the winter of 63 easily as we had just moved from the centre of Wolverhampton (We lived right opposite the Wolves Football Ground) to a farmhouse Near Church Stretton it was very isolated and the place I have loved best in my lifetime but we had 8 feet snowdrifts and the roads were completly blocked from the tops of the hedgerows and a farmer used to come and pick us up for school in a tractor with a sheep cart on the back and we used to go over fields for the 1 1/2 mile trip to school and then when we were at School we had a roaring fire in a huge grate there was only 2 classes in the school one for infants and one for juniors and during bad weather we all mixed in together I think there was only about 20 ish pupils in the school at that time and I was 9 years old... Also because the milk lorries couldn't get through the farmer used to bring us a Churn of milk it was lovely... Happy days...
Sue

Re: Memories of previous cold winters

i was born in scotland and remember the snow we still went to school, biggest kid in front, little ones at the back, treading in each others footsteps, and the schools didnt close.
also remember when i was about 12 we was out with my mum n dad. and it snowed so heavily that when a car couldnt get out the carpark, they just pushed the other cars out the way.
in 1986 we had heavy snow and i was about 6 months pregnant i used to wear this big coat and had bright red moon boots. i was allowed out just to collect some milk and bread.
i remember the kids going out with carrier bags on their feet (inside their boots) to keep their feet dry. and bread bags on their hands to keep their gloves dry.
just realised my avvi is rather appropriate,

Re: Memories of previous cold winters

1963--primary school days. Rolling snow balls as big as we were to make a `fort` . Cold hands on warm radiators and that tingle. Walking to school.

1981--Naughty days. Living in Leeds in a relationship going knowwhere and having an affair with a young lady in Ferndown(Dorset)-the snow cleared there quickly but I was frozen both physically and emotionally in the North.

Warm hands but a frozen heart

2010 -Enough coal and a warm heart

Re: Memories of previous cold winters

Hi Kazz, just reading through all the posts as a new member.
Interesting the discusssion about the cold weather in years gone by.
I well remember the 1947snows, and things did close, the schools for thing, we loved it, couldnt go to school, the snow went over our wellies and we didn't have the strength to put one foot in front of the other. We had an outside loo which we could not get to for a couple of days as the ice had frozen the latch, we all had to use the buckets!.
We kids had laods of fun when it started to thaw, making ice slides across the roads(omg, how dangerous we were to other people ) we got told off but like all kids, we thought it was hilarious!, we were about 7 yrs old, we had knitted gloves then plastic wrapped around them tied with string at the cuffs to keep our hands from freezing. Parents only let us out for about1 hr.
I remember the one in 1963, my wedding year, we bought a house on the coast, it was so cold we had thick ice on the insides of the windows, no central heating just a coal fire which blew smoke back out into the room when it was windy- would not want to go through that again.