Chilling memories of winters past
If you think that the last few days have been bad, spare a thought for Salopians of 70 years ago who not only had to endure blizzards, massive snowdrifts, and freezing temperatures, but were on rations as well.
One of a dwindling number who can recall the winter of 1947 is veteran Shropshire journalist Frank Fuller, aged 88, of Market Drayton. With rural areas cut off, two of his colleagues accompanied an aid shipment to the south of the county.
It was a winter which, like those of 1963 and 1982, had those key ingredients to make it last long in the memory - not just severe weather, but longevity.
"I thought with this cold snap it would be an idea to remind people what the winter of 1947 was really like. Now that really was bad. It lasted for weeks," said Frank.
"We had the worst snowstorm that I have ever experienced and Shropshire was badly affected, farmers were losing stock, and transport was held up. We had no proper clothing really because it was just after the end of the war. I can tell you it was very tough.
"There was a scheme to take urgently-needed cattle food down to south Shropshire and two members of the staff of the Wellington Journal got on to it. As I understood it they had a ride on the back of the lorry, an ex-US Army truck, I believe, which was laden with essential food for cattle on a relief expedition.
"It was a real big adventure, with snowdrifts up to 10ft. Their names were not mentioned in the story - the Journal never gave bylines - but they were Stanley Hall, who was the chief reporter of the Wellington Journal & Shrewsbury News, based at Shrewsbury, and Clifford Nicholas, who was the chief photographer of the paper based in Wellington.
"I was a junior at Wellington and I would not be allowed to go on such expeditions. I forget exactly where they went, but it was Church Stretton and the Long Mynd area, so you can imagine what the pictures were like.
"Clifford Nicholas would be using a VN camera - a plate camera, as they didn't have film cameras on the Journal until later."
That 1947 winter saw the worst snowstorms for many years on February 5 which blocked roads and cut off villages, and there was an even worse blizzard on March 5. The sting in the tail was disastrous floods which followed the thaw.
The 1963 winter was notable for the prolonged misery, with freezing temperatures day and night for weeks, while the winter of 1981-1982 was historic as temperatures hit new lows, with the coldest December since 1890 followed in Shropshire on January 10, 1982, by the lowest temperature ever recorded in England of minus 26.1C (minus 15F) at Harper Adams Agricultural College, Edgmond.
January 11 was the coldest Shropshire day since records began.
In more recent times, the snow of the last few days was the worst since March 22 and 23, 2013, which similarly spanned a weekend.
