The Big Freeze

"I went to Lovewell Road School and in 1963 we had the harshest winter for years. No heating at the school but no getting sent home then! Our teacher (Miss Cook I think) took us for a 'lovely walk' along the seafront from The Royal Hotel to Pakefield Church. That day was bitterly cold but amazingly sunny and bright with a flawless blue sky. The sea was frozen in parts at the shore and we saw an enormous Conger Eel frozen in death by the sand. We got to Pakefield Church where we were allowed to do brass rubbings. I could barely hold the wax, it was so cold!"

A memory shared by Philip Hannah.

"I was born in Newnham Road Binstead in 1955 and have happy memories of the freedom of living there. However the most distinct memory was waking up on Boxing day 1962 and seeing the snow. The lanes were completely blocked. Wearing short trousers in the freezing cold to school (Mr Shaw would not allow 'long ones') with a coke stove to heat the classroom. There was still snow on the ground on my birthday in February, it never seemed to go!"

A memory shared by Robert Hall.

"We never had central heating in Winter. I remember when it was cold or snowing when I woke in a morning, I had to melt Jack Frost on the inside of the bedroom window. I would make a little hole in the frost to see to my delight a lot of snow had arrived overnight and it was still snowing very hard. If it was a school day my dad used to get a shovel and dig a path to school about 500 yards away, no saying we cannot go to school."

A memory shared by Douglas Carter.

"When the pool froze over and we would become great ice skaters or ballerinas. We would go sledging on anything we could find on those banks, they seemed like snow covered mountains. We would climb and slide down so quickly. We loved every inch of the banks and the winter snow; wearing socks on our hands we never did feel the cold."

A memory shared by Pauline Heywood (Was Page).

"1946 was a very bad winter, we were snowed in for weeks. The winters were very hard and my parents told me that when they were young they could remember the River Exe frozen solid and market stalls set up on them. Getting out of bed with the frost patterning all the windows and the linoleum on the floor freezing cold was a nightmare. If I got half a chance I would go to bed with my vest and liberty bodice on to avoid some of the cold in the morning. People don't know that they have been born these days, with their central heating and fitted carpets, and they still moan that they are cold in the occasional cold snap!"

A memory shared by Rosemary Morris.

"It was cold and our breath froze on our faces. We each had bread with something on it to eat and we broke off icicles to suck the freezing water. Then we made slides. Proper long slides. None of your playground rubbish with a queue to get on. Just career down and then run back to the top. Sometimes, career down sitting on a very wet bottom as your feet went from under you. The best fun ever. Sitting around all afternoon in wet clothing was a very small price to pay for a perfect hour of fun."

A memory shared by Winifred Lilian Macdonald.