Cycling on the Thames

[snorri]

Funny though I recall my dad telling me about the snow in 1947 but not 1963 - was '47 worse than '63?

Probably depends on which part of the country, but '63 was not as bad as '55, and neither was as serious as '47 in the northern parts of the UK. Of course we have the means to cope better now than we did in '47.

 

[gbs]

I wasn't born then so don't remember a great deal about it. Funny though I recall my dad telling me about the snow in 1947 but not 1963 - was '47 worse than '63?

1947: I recall snow on the ground in Portsmouth for most of Feb/March so no football or any outside activity save for walking to school. Weekly orange juice concentrate came on 1/4 pint bottles with a blue Min of Health label; the first bananas arrived - exotic beyond belief.

1963; I do not recall anything special about that winter.

 

[Aperitif]

Helpful stuff here.

 

[Headgardener]

This is a great little film: http://www.forgotten...films/snow.html

Or straight from YouTube: http://www.youtube.c...5FC67B9&index=1

Amazing shots of blokes actually doing some work, not sitting in the crewbus and moaning.

I don't suppose that the railway company's have snow ploughs to bolt onto the front of a locomotive anymore. Nor sanders in order to help with grip on damp rails.

 

[slowmotion]

Or straight from YouTube: http://www.youtube.c...5FC67B9&index=1

The signal box with the coal fire was fantastic.

 

[John Ponting]

A big difference between '63 and now is that fewer people commuted to work and could walk in. I started work in 1962 and didn't miss a days work during that winter.

 

[krushavik]

I was 18yrs at the time and an apprentice in Trafford Park and I remember having to walk a few miles before I could get a bus to work. (wages were £3 10s or there abouts.)

 

[Arch]

I don't suppose that the railway company's have snow ploughs to bolt onto the front of a locomotive anymore. Nor sanders in order to help with grip on damp rails.

I thought that, but someone fairly recently said that they do have something like sandboxes.

But John has a big point. Back then the roads could grind to a halt, and it would make little difference until shops started to run out of stuff. Now, lots of people 'have' to drive to work, and shops 'have' to get deliveries every day...

 

[summerdays]

Great pics!

I wasn't born then so don't remember a great deal about it. Funny though I recall my dad telling me about the snow in 1947 but not 1963 - was '47 worse than '63?

My Dad's email response when I sent him the link to those photos:

I remember 1962/3 winter. I was in Victoria Bridge at the time. Roads were very difficult. The earlier snow of 1946/7 was much much worse. Leepers tractor driver cleared the road to Cookstown.

For me .. I wasn't born for either - possibly the worst for me (very minor I know) was 1987 as I was a student so the first time I really noticed the negative sides such as ice on the insides of windows etc.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I was about 10ish the winter of 63, memories include ice on the inside of the house windows, waking up to the sound of my Dad clearing the garden path every morning and going sledging up the hills behind the town, Folkstone in Kent, and realising as I walked up the lane that there were cars underneath the snow I was walking on.

 

[Dayvo]

I was 3 in Jan. '63 and got a pedal car for my birthday.

I drove my mum mad by driving it around inside for months as the snow didn't clear until April-time.

It was a blue pedal car!

 

[Cascad]

"10ish"

Did you have a racket (in a Sean Connery voice)...

 

[Deleted member 1258]

"10ish"

Did you have a racket (in a Sean Connery voice)...

????

 

[Aperitif]

"10ish"

Did you have a racket (in a Sean Connery voice)...

New balls please!

 

[Fnaar]

One of my earlies memories must be from that winter (though as I would only have been about 1 and a bit, that sounds iffy)... but I remember going outside and my dad had cleared the path, and the snow on both sides was higher than my head... can't have been that winter, I guess... confused now)