Brum snow past and present

[Vivienne14]

With snow on the way, here are a few past, seasonal snow scenes

St Phillip's churchyard in 1955, the pigeons still out in force.



Remember sitting on buses in traffic jams; freezing fingers and toes, soggy wet floors, soggy wet feet ? A 1960s jam.




Breaking the ice, bike-style, in Cannon Hill Park, 1978.


And how the soggy snow mixed with salt marked your footwear. Coventry Road near Muntz Street in 1947.

 

[Donbogen]

Winter 1962/63 snow up to front gate we still want to school for our frozen milk

 

[Vivienne14]

I remember how clear the air seemed and how wonderfully bright. Walking to school in those conditions was an adventure. No-one expected you to arrive on time. You arrived rosy-cheeked, most likely soaked through from snowball fights, gloves and socks were dried on radiators. And if you made it to school, 9 times out of 10 you'd be told to turn around and head home. No mobiles to let parents know what was going on. We just muddled through one way or another.

 

[Astoness]

Winter 1962/63 snow up to front gate we still want to school for our frozen milk

i posted this on another thread not long ago but well worth watching..what a winter that was

 

[Astoness]

ive just watched that video again it really has to be seen to be believed just how bad it was...as a 10 year old it was great fun but we never knew just how everyone around the country was suffering

lyn

 

[Vivienne14]

A quick summary of snowfall over time from the Birmingham Mail:


1917-18
An average winter, whereas 1918-20 saw high falls in the Midlands

1928-29:
A lot of snow fell in the West Midlands late December

1932-33:
Late February there was a Great Blizzard, for Ireland, Wales, South West England, Northern England, and the Midlands.

1946-47:
Early February saw snow in the Midlands (Southern)
After heavy snow fall all horse races were cancelled at Birmingham Race Course.

1951-54:
Average years in terms of snowfall, though one noteworthy fall of 1ft in Wales and the Southern Midlands (late November) with drifts of 30 feet. Some other falls of 12 inches at the end of this period.

1961-62:
Early January in the Midlands saw 14 inches of snow.

1968-70:
Early March, snow in the Midlands getting 12 inches.

1990-91
Saw 8 inches of snow in the Midlands in early December 1990. A heavy blizzard in December 1990.

2003-04:
In mid January snow fell fairly widely across the Midlands

2005/06:
Snow on 28 November, especially affecting the Midlands

2007/08:
A mild, largely snowless winter, but followed by some noteworthy wintry spells in early to mid spring.

 

[Vivienne14]

Two additional dates not listed above - 1963 and 1978 :

 

[Lloyd]

i posted this on another thread not long ago but well worth watching..what a winter that was

Also reminds us of how good current affairs programmes were back then - the 'Tonight' team, led by Cliff Michelmore have always been the best in my view.

 

[Speedy23]

Yes I remember in 1963 the snow came over your welly tops but school never seemed to shut (thanks Mrs Deakin, headmistress...) and walking to school through fog so thick you literally couldn't see your hand 6" in front of your nose...gawd knows what it did to our little lungs...

Well before the Clean Air Act came in. And indoors wasn't much better, the adults all puffing away on Park Drives, Senior Service and Players like there was no tomorrow...

No central heating in those days either, I remember getting dressed in bed 'cos it was warmer....and Jack Frost coming to visit, the ice on the INSIDE of the single-pane windows....

 

[Donbogen]

Yes I remember in 1963 the snow came over your welly tops but school never seemed to shut (thanks Mrs Deakin, headmistress...) and walking to school through fog so thick you literally couldn't see your hand 6" in front of your nose...gawd knows what it did to our little lungs...

Well before the Clean Air Act came in. And indoors wasn't much better, the adults all puffing away on Park Drives, Senior Service and Players like there was no tomorrow...

No central heating in those days either, I remember getting dressed in bed 'cos it was warmer....and Jack Frost coming to visit, the ice on the INSIDE of the single-pane windows....

Yes been there got the t shirt
Winter 62//63

 

[Astoness]

Yes I remember in 1963 the snow came over your welly tops but school never seemed to shut (thanks Mrs Deakin, headmistress...) and walking to school through fog so thick you literally couldn't see your hand 6" in front of your nose...gawd knows what it did to our little lungs...

Well before the Clean Air Act came in. And indoors wasn't much better, the adults all puffing away on Park Drives, Senior Service and Players like there was no tomorrow...

No central heating in those days either, I remember getting dressed in bed 'cos it was warmer....and Jack Frost coming to visit, the ice on the INSIDE of the single-pane windows....

hi speedy...everything you remember is just how i remember that winter...including sitting in the classroom with our coats on oh and of our little bottles of daily milk ending up almost frozen and the milk coming up from the bottles frozen..must have been a nightmare for our parents trying to keep us warm due to the lack of coal supplies getting to us because of bad weather..to us it was just good fun

lyn