the big snow of 1947 on 5 now

My Mum and Dad were travelling back from Ireland in 1947 and the train journey ended about 6 miles from home. The snow drifts were massive and they walked home on top of hedges. It took many hours and they finally reached home in the pitch black.

My dh was in Warwickshire at the age of 8. He has mentioned several times walking to school which was a mile away over the top of hedges. His mother always had a big cupboard full of tinned and packaged food. I remember her saying she was afraid of being snowed in. They lived in a hamlet so very rural.
I was six years old and lived in central London. I remember the snow but also the trouble to get coal. Everyone was looking out for the coal man. My dad had to carry coal to my gran.

I was six in 47 and have good memories of the snow. Our gang of children, with the help of my a dad, built an igloo in the middle of the road. It was a long road with another meeting it at right angles half way along and we had two gangs of kids from each section who both built two walls about four foot high behind which we had our snowball ammunition and a battle carried on for days.

Our school closed and we played outside, frozen toes and fingers but not to miss the fun. We made very long slides down the hill that lasted for weeks.

Oreo

Am watching it now, wow have never seen snow like it!People managed to be very stoic and carried on with their lives, walking miles to get to work.

When I was 3, at the time of the snow, we had to go 325 miles by train from Kent to Wales to visit my grandparents. The bus taking us from the station to the village broke down three miles from their home! We had no choice but to walk. Obviously, I was carried for most of it but walked when it wasn’t too bad. Bear in mind, my parents had all the luggage as well as me. My granddad came to meet us, which helped, but it was a slog apparently. I do remember some of it, and proved that to my mum when she doubted it by telling her something I wouldn’t have known if I hadn’t been there. The bus driver, a friend of my grandparents, had another three miles to go, so he stayed the night on my grandparents’ sofa. We really don’t seem to get snow like that now…….or do we??

I started school in west London in January 1947 and remember wearing so many layers I couldn’t bend to take my wellingtons off - wool Chilprufe vest, fleece-lined libert bodice, Vyella shirt, serge tunic, thick hand knitted cardigan, heavy wool coat. Getting dressed and undressed took forever.

In January 1963 I was a newly wed living in York in a flat at the top of a rather grand house. The water pipes froze in the road and all water had to be lugged up 68 steps, as did the coal for the sitting room fire, the only form of heating. This went on for six weeks but in no way put us off married life!

I was just 3 in ‘47 and don’t remember it at all. Strangely, although a student ,I don’t remember ‘63 either. I was going out with DH then, and he says he often had to sleep on my parent’s sofa as he couldn’t get home. Don’t remember that either.

1963 is the year I remember the roads filled up with snow blow off the fields and it froze for about 10 weeks here, when it did end it rained hard. Combined with with melting snow there was a massive flood including sheets of ice 12 inches thick coming down the river

We did get a few days off school, main roads were cleared, side roads didn’t. Nothing close to that since, parents said 47 was worse.

Also a big freeze in 1969. Snowed in,snow half way up windows, lovely farmers bringing supplies, from shop round on wide wheeled tractors.

MayBee70

granfromafar

There was a similar programme about the big freeze of 1963 on last week, which was brilliant. Will watch this one later on catch up.

I don’t understand why I have no memory whatsoever of that; I must have had problems getting to school etc.

I don't remember missing any school at all in '63.

By then I was at a local grammar school a couple of miles away from home and one to which children from surrounding villages came in on the local buses. I think the council just got the snow ploughs out and got on with it.

The 1947 winter was a dreadful time, everything was run down post war and there was very little money , people and the country were broke...

I was 4 in 1947. My mother and I lived in a bedsit in Oxford. I can remember my hands being very cold and being told to rub them together in front of a very dismal gas fire which only gave out 1 bar of heat owing to shortages. Snow was piled high everywhere and it was very cold! Shortages of just about everything were worse just after the war than during it, as lots of emergency stores had to go to Europe particularly to the Dutch who were actually starving in the streets. My mother remarried in April of that year and overnight our troubles were over, and luckily stayed that way. 1963 I was 20 and at work. Buses and trains froze, ran very late, ice covered everything even the inside of my bedroom wall! People skated on the Thames. It seemed to go on for weeks and weeks, then suddenly it had gone.

I remember ‘63 - not long been at Grammar School. During the day, if school was to be closed, private coaches would come back early to take other girls off to various destinations, leaving local ones (me!) to fend for ourselves. We’d struggle through the City to find the bus station deserted and end up walking the 3 or more miles home.

1947 was before my time.

I was 4 in 1947. We lived in south London. I remember the snow because on several Sundays, my mother got out the pram to go to church (me, DS, in pram, DGM and her) and the snow was so deep, even on south London streets, she opened the back gate, took a look at how deep the snow was on the street and brought the pram back in.

I remember it so clearly because, as catholics, we went to church every Sunday without fail, so to have several weeks when we didn't go was memorable.

I was at university during the 1963 freeze-up. My father was staioned in Germany at the time, where it was even colder than in the UK. After the Christmas vacation at home in Munchen Gladbach, I returned to Newcastle - and could not get over how warm it was. Everyone thought I was mad - but they hadn't been in Germany, on the German plain, with nothing to break the wind as it came off the Steppes.

granfromafar

There was a similar programme about the big freeze of 1963 on last week, which was brilliant. Will watch this one later on catch up.

I don’t understand why I have no memory whatsoever of that; I must have had problems getting to school etc.

Somewhere, not sure where, there are some old black and white photos of me in the snow ❄️. I remember it well as I was ten.

I remember '63 clearly.
I hadn't realised 47 was so bad though, really enjoyed that programme. We were still short of housing (& most else) from the war, it looked grim. Then they had a lovely summer & the Queen's wedding later in the year & things bucked up.

Catch up tv tomorrow? I’m going to.

I was born on Feb 24 1947. My mum said it was the coldest day of the winter. Not sure if that was true.

granfromafar

There was a similar programme about the big freeze of 1963 on last week, which was brilliant. Will watch this one later on catch up.

I remember that one I was 10 and my dad took us into town and we walked on the iced up edge of the river Taw…. Amazing.(and I managed to miss that one as well 🤦‍♀️)

I’ve just seen this and so I’ve missed it as well, buggeration 🤦‍♀️

I’m sorry I missed this , I do remember the snow of 47 , I was 10 , we just got on with things , the war was over but rationing was still in place

I remember the snow of 63. I had just started work and was expected to walk 2.5 miles to the station to get a train into London, to start work at 8.30 am.
Them in reverse going home
For that I got paid £4.50 gross per Week.
Those were the days+my friend… we thought they’d never end..and it was a long time before the snow did end.
School get closed with an inch or two of snow lasting maybe just a few days now. I can never understand why.

There was a similar programme about the big freeze of 1963 on last week, which was brilliant. Will watch this one later on catch up.

I remember my mother telling me about it. People were certainly more resilient then.

Am watching it now, wow have never seen snow like it!People managed to be very stoic and carried on with their lives, walking miles to get to work.