Was it 1963 that we had a really bad winter in the UK?

Question

I seem to remember thick 'pea souper' fogs and we had so much ice and snow, the bus couldn't get up the hill where we lived.

Grodno you poor thing! I hope someone was there to kiss it better..when it was better I mean. Ouch!

Veronica, funny you shoul d mention 1947. My Partner was found in a phone box in April of that year. He reckons he remembers it but I think he must have read about it.

Was it tiger balm Sylvia?

Answer 1

Oh yes it was 1963 for sure! I can still feel the cold after reading tc and bj's answer, we could have lived in the same house and gone to the same school ,it sounds the same,except I was in Surrey not Sussex.
It was a few months after my mother died, I was 13 and I know it was a very sad time for me, that could never be forgotten. I had really bad chilblains from standing at bus stops waiting for buses that never arrived. One of my aunties used to coat my feet and legs in thick green ointment to stop the itching,can't think what is was called now. Do remember though that I really wanted it to be my mum with that little round tin in her hand.

hugs x

Answer 2

Yes! I had appendicitis and the hospital to which I was going was way out in the back of beyond. Transport came to a dead stop and I had to get out and walk knee deep through the snow to get there.
We lived in a flat in Bristol - the water pipes were frozen underground and water tankers were bringing water round to the houses. The guy in the flat above us had a Mini parked outside - he knocked the snow out of the front of the pile, drove his mini out to go to work; by the time he returned that night, the snow pile had frozen solid into an ice garage into which he reversed.
We were putting 7Kw of heat from a paraffin drip feed heater and fan heaters into our living room and all the plants still died of the cold.
My daughter's birthday was 18th April and we moved a couple of weeks after to our first house - there was still snow in the garden.
I also remember the winter of 1947!!

Answer 3

I was 6yrs old and Tc hadn't been born in 1962....I remember some really bad winters where I lived in Lancing, Sussex. We had paraffin heaters and a coal fire in the living room. It was SO cold in our house the windows had ice on the inside and even with extra blankets on my bed I was still cold. We were allowed to wear our balaclavas in bed!
I was taken to and from school in a pushchair coz I wasn't allowed to go in the snow due to having a weak chest and wasn't allowed in the playground at break times either. Our break time milk was frozen solid in the bottles and it got put near the heater in the class to thaw out! Warm milk at breaktime that if we had it like that now we'd probably be ill lol.
School got closed coz they couldn't keep it warm and the main boiler broke down. To start off with we were doing lessons wearing our coats, hats, gloves and scarfs but in the end we had to go home.
I remember one year when the sea froze but I can't remember which year it was.......possibly '63 but can't say for sure.

Answer 4

i wonder if this is from the same source that said we were going to have the hottest summer on record in 2007 yes right look what happened there it won,t be that bad its only going to last 3 4 days this cold spell coming up then turned milder once again i think that's how 2008 winter will go crappy long spells of mild weather followed by brief cold interludes

Answer 5

I remember it well, I was 12, the ice on the windows was so thick on the inside, no school, boilers packed up, and I remember feeling so sorry for some of my friends who lived in Terraced Houses, they had no indoor Loo's and their outdoor ones were unusable, they hated using the buckets.....I love the snow...but certainly not that much

Answer 6

Yes, I remember it quite well. although I was only 9 at the time. I remember on the news seeing pictures of horses that had frozen to the ground. I remember seeing birds falling out of the sky! I also remember going into the shed and inside were about 50 wild birds sheltering and they didn't even fly away when I went in, so I brought them food and water.

Answer 7

Lucky me I was abroad serving Queen and Country and It was hot, but I remember 1947 and it was made worse by all the food and fuel shortages, of course houses weren't as well insulated as they are today frost on the inside of windows was common and so were frozen pipes, happy days? I think not. I have no nostalgia for the old days they were bad old days in lots of respects

Answer 8

I remember there was a hill in Stockport that I had to go up and it was a sheet of ice with cars and lorries all over the road. Good job I had a mini it went up like a dream

Answer 9

It was 62/63, I was on Christmas leave from the army and got a telegram to take an extra weeks leave. When I got back we had to dig the Carlisle to Settle railway line clear of snow.

Answer 10

Yes and I remember having to walk through about a foot of snow to get to work. Blissfully younger then and actually enjoyed it not something I would even consider now!!!