Winter of '47

In the Bleak Midwinter of 1947
By Carole Somerville (written in 2003)

On January 24th, 1947, most of the south of England awoke to see a blanket of snow had covered the land. What they would not have realised was that this marked the start of a long spell of extreme cold weather: the worst of the century. That weekend, the temperature fell all over Britain. Snow began to fall continuously and this was accompanied by gale-force winds from the east. The weather got worse and worse, ten-foot drifts turning the countryside into a huge, white maze. Even the River Thames froze over. Roads were closed and no coal got through to power stations and factories. Three hundred major roads became impassable, cutting off England from Scotland. The RAF dropped food supplies to inhabitants of isolated communities. Power to industries in the South, the Midlands and the North-West was cut off altogether. Householders were told to switch off all electricity between 9 am and midday and again between 2 and 4 p.m. Streets were plunged into darkness, newspapers shrank in size to four pages, weekly periodicals shot down and greyhound racing was forbidden. Snow fell every day until March 16th.

The above paints a picture of Britain at this time. From diaries and talking to locals, here’s a glimpse of life in Nicholforest, in 1947:

Joan Robson told me that there was no electricity in this area at that time. For lighting, people would use candles, paraffin lamps, gaslights or Tilly lamps. They would use stable lamps too; these were glass with a handle, oil and wick. At Craigburn, there was a gas lamp in the kitchen and one in the sitting room. They would cook on the fire. Most houses had a boiler next to the fire if it was a black range, or behind it. At Craigburn it was immediately behind the fire. Clothes, she remembers, were always lily white.
  Joan also remembers the snow. She was at school in Keswick at that time and every Sunday she would write home but she never received a letter for six weeks and couldn’t understand why. Seemingly, there had been letters posted to her but the snow had drifted over the post box at the road end in Catlowdy so it hadn’t got emptied.
  Robert Moor remembers moving into the shop at Catlowdy with his parents, during this chilly winter. Roads were frequently blocked and Nicholforest was quite isolated. However, the following summer was absolutely wonderful, says Robert!
 Households were starting to have telephones installed, this year. On the 8th January, there was three inches of snow. At Craigburn, there was a Mr A Hodgson there, seeing about re-seeding. On the 10th, was the Canonbie Ball. Weather was very wet and by the 16th, anyone from Nicholforest who visited Carlisle would have seen the River Eden in flood. On the 23rd January, there was a Parish Council meeting at Warwicksland. Later in the month, a manager’s meeting at Bailey School. On the 27th, there was a Burns Supper at the Scugg and on the 28th, at Bessiestown, they were killing a pig. Page 2