Big freezes

Hi all Try the 62-63 big-freeze You might enjoy reading this account of events for that winter.

I used to go to Hill Farm, I'm sure Radford Kid will say the same as he too went to the same school, teachers were local and no health and safety in those days. Yes they are right, Bryn Thomas, my parents used to say they had to climb out of the bedroom window to get out or tunnel their way out the back door, like this, when the village was snowed in. As for my mum, her mum had businesses, my mum at 9 had to walk ten miles with a sleigh and younger brother to the next town to get all the bread for the village with her young brother back in Wales.

I remember the 'Big Freeze' so well. Tough times but we seemed to cope pretty well, possibly because we had so little then that could actually be affected by the cold and snow. Few people owned cars, central heating, fridges, freezers and phones. Most of us experienced bedrooms icing up on the inside - but we had army greatcoats to supplement the bedclothes and two of my brothers pooled their warmth with mine. Apart from all of the technical wizardry we all take for granted nowadays I appreciate modern textiles and materials most, whoever invented the fleece should be given a Nobel Prize! Also modern footwear prevents cold from penetrating - or we don't spend as much time walking as we did then. The cold in one's feet was so painful although that didn't stop us from going out with our mates till all hours. Some of my recollections: In 62-3 I had a paper round at Griffins shop next to the Morris main gate on Bell Green Rd. If any of the other lads failed to turn up I did their round for the princely sum of 1/6d. One lad missed many a round because his mother thought the weather too severe to go out, especially early mornings, so I usually did his round myself. Some years later, travelling home on leave from the navy, I happened to meet the lad on the train, he was in the army. Perhaps, as young men often do, we both exaggerated our importance in the defence of the Kingdom but I had to draw a line when he tried to spin me a yarn that he was in the SAS! My pals and me spent a deal of time on the canal - and often in it when we ventured too near the outfalls at Herberts where the ice was thinner. Long queues for coke at Foleshill gas works and the variety of vehicles used to carry the sacks of coke - old prams, trolleys, bikes, sack trucks etc. People used to throw ashes from their grates onto the pavements and roads. There was no salting then, I remember rutted solid ice on most roads for several weeks. I remember going on a Midland Red to visit folks in Coalville, Leicestershire, and marvelled at the huge banks of snow, it seemed far worse than in our city. I think it was claimed that even in May and June frost could be found several feet down, although that might be an urban myth. Life is so much more comfortable now and I appreciate that but I sometimes miss the simplicity of those days and the company of my folks and companions. Where have they gone?

Well that was another great tale! Reading all these experiences, I realise now that ordinary living people in the 60's found that bout of extreme weather really harsh to cope with, even though they were used to less comforts like our homes nowadays. I still can't find any local footage of the Coventry freeze-up and am a bit disappointed, thought there'd be quite a bit out there. I found one more short video, which I think captures struggle that transport had at that time. Frozen Roads

Hi Foxcote, hi all Coventry was quite well prepared for the deluge of snow, ice & blizzards. There were problems after each heavy snow fall, but most people got to work, most children got to school & we just carried on. It was one of the first seasons of wholesale use of salt on the roads. The Saturday after new year, 1963, I went to Barnwood in Gloucestershire trainspotting, & had to wait three hours for a train back to B'ham. Somewhere I have a photo of a foot long icicle hanging from a station gas lamp. That day had recorded its lowest temperature in the area, where the midday high was 26'f. or minus 3/4c. I saw the river Severn frozen right across. Routes across high ground were badly affected. Our local public transport mostly kept going. I saw diesel starters & pre-heaters being used to start the bus engines. The diesel fuel was prone to freezing at such low temperatures. I can't remember not getting to where I wanted to go or getting back home, even if it took a lot longer.

Hi Morgana, I have just read your link and the letter Roz Morris sent in saying her father remembered the snow in 1947. I remember that year very well although very young. Not so much traffic in those days, but it was a shocker. Even mum had to dig her way into the shop with a little help from the neighbours (King Richard Street). It must have been that year that we had some snow on my birthday in the May.

Morgana as a footnote to your footnote, before we moved to Wales there would be times when we would be visiting my in-laws (as late as the 80s) and the snow clouds would come over. If we did not head for the Midlands straightaway- even a half-hour delay was too much-the snows would come down and we would be stuck. I've known the time when I have driven to one end of the village and couldn't get out so I've driven to the other end and had the same result. My father-in-law would look at me knowingly and would say something like 'the snow ploughs will be through by Tuesday and you are going nowhere till then so make the most of it.' Unfortunately my boss back home always thought that I was just looking for a few crafty days off work.

I can't believe that 'Freeze-up' was half a century ago this Christmas and you all remember it so vividly.

Hi Foxcote, My daughter was too young for building snowmen having only been born in '62, and sorry to say my son never had the chance to see snow until he came to OZ believe it or not. He had to go to Mt. Hotham over east. The most we get here is hailstones the size of golf balls, or maybe bigger in some places, and you would not like a snowball fight with one of those.

My family lived at the top of St Martins Road. The hill down to Kenpas Highway was very bad and my father struggled to get to work. I was 9 years old coming up for 10 in January. My memories were making some of the best snow castles ever in the front garden, and they lasted forever, or it seemed that way at the time. It was also the last period of time that I took the 16 from Droylsdon Park terminus to the Prep school on Kenilworth Road. Heh, I didn't realise at the time that these would be some of the best days I would ever have.

My dad was in Keresley Hospital during the bad weather. My sister's boyfriend used to take us, in his old Austin car, to visit him. The car didn't have a heater, so we used to take blankets and hot water bottles with us.

I remember cycling from my home in Stoke Aldermoor to GEC Telephone Works in the frozen snow. It was OK if you could follow car tyre tracks, but if you wanted to divert from those, then there was a good chance of falling off the bike. Our house didn't have any central heating, and I can remember the ice on the inside of the bedroom windows on many mornings.

I was still living in Newey Road, Wyken during the freeze and the house had no central heating. On the window sill to my bedroom was a fish tank with a goldfish. Not only did the windows have ice caked on the insides, but the water in the fish tank had also frozen, with Horace, the fish, frozen in mid swim. We managed to thew it out but Horace looked very second hand and lay on his side. My Gran fetched her bottle of brandy, which she kept for "medicinal purposes", poured a drop or two into the cap, took Horace and shoved his mouth in the brandy. Fully revived (or inebriated) he swam off and lived for another two years

Wow, I just have to reply to your post Gangan. Not sure what year this was but we had left the house for the weekend and returned on the Monday to find out poor 'Goldie" floating in the icy water in her/his tank. My hubby put a few drops of brandy in the water and after a short while she/he started to swim around. Which reminds me I am going to get a bottle of brandy in now! We did have the fish for a couple of years after that.

My dad's rented garage was a good 10 minute walk from our house and he used to put a small round paraffin heater under the engine and leave it burning all night to ensure it didn't freeze up!