Winter Of 1947

[nicebloke1]

Did anyone see this on TV last night. Dare say its a repeat, but its the first time I've seen it. Its normally a repeat of the sixties winter. Thats what you call a real hard time, worth watching if you've not seen it.

[Prudie]

I did watch it and was surprised, never really heard of it before. As you say the 60s one lots of times. I can't imagine people coping with the like these days.

[MargoTester]

I didn't see it but I remember my parents talking about how dreadful it was. I do remember the winter of 1963 which was pretty awful and seemed to go on forever. We still had an outdoor loo at the time and it froze solid so you had to take a bucket of water out to flush it🥶 No central heating, no car - them were the days😉

[barry1010]

We'd cope, Prudie.

[nicebloke1]

I was shivering just watching it. Made me feel very well off indeed.

[nicebloke1]

Will be a talking point when i next visit my mum, shes never mentioned this one, only the 1963 one. She would have been 26 years old.

[MargoTester]

Parts of the Thames froze over in both 47 and 63, the first time for 200 years when frost fairs were actually held on the river

[ladybirder]

I was there.  I couldn't go to school as the snow was coming over the top of my wellies.  Remember being amazed by it all.

[bhg481]

My wife was born in 1947. Whilst they lived on a main road there were no buses running at all so her dad had to walk 2 miles to the nearest village to fetch the midwife. In the meantime the next-door neighbour delivered her, "Another little boy". I have to keep checking she hasn't reverted.

[davebro3]

I remember it well - I was born in December 1946. 🤣🤣🤣

[pastafreak]

I didn't see that listed last night. I just checked...5select? I'll see if I can watch on catch-up. 

Yep...managed to find my password...I wasn't sure if I was registered 🤔😂

[sandyRoe]

I didn't see the programme, I would have been a few months old during that winter.

My old dad was firmly of the opinion that atom bomb tests were responsible for that harsh winter.

[davebro3]

There must have been another hard winter with heavy snow between '47 & '51? I remember snow being drifted higher than our backyard door & we moved house in '52.

[pastafreak]

NYC was also hit by a record blizzard on December 26...25 inches in 24 hours.

https://www.life.com/nature/snow-blizzard-of-1947-photos-of-new-york/

[maggiebee]

davebro3 - I was born in December 1946 too and remember my mum and dad telling me that my brothers were off school for nearly 6 weeks as the snow was so deep. It was trams back then but they didn't come near our semi rural house.  Dad trudged miles for basics.

[netherfield]

Wasn't born in 47, but do remember 63, we all managed to get to school, 2 of the teachers lived within yards of it. Caretaker lived directly opposite so the heating was working. 

Behind the school were fields and the snow drifted as high as the walls.

Didn't seem to bother that the roads were blocked, because not many had a car. Dad had a van , I could look down the street and not see another vehicle, now they're parked nosed to tail down one side, and two or more in the drive on the other.

[MargoTester]

If you google "the 5 worst winters in the uk" it gives you the facts and figures, citing 63 as the worst. I did find a mention of the City of London having a hard winter in 51 Dave

[dave50]

Must have been climate change. 

[Canary42]

I was only 5 years old so have little memory of it, but parents often referred to it.

[ladybirder]

Help me here please.  When you talk about the winter of 47 do you mean Jan and Feb or November December?

[Old_Geezer]

"Winter of 1946/47 The cold snap was felt across Europe, but the UK suffered the worst, and the country came to a standstill. Between January 1947 and March 1947, snow fell somewhere in the UK for 55 straight days. The snow was the main issue, but temperatures hit -21C across the UK."