Winter of 1963
 

I was talking to my wife today about Winters when we were kids. The best by far was 1963. I tell the lie that it started in November and snowed every day until the beginning of June!!!! Well it felt like that! I'm sure there are lots of you who remember it or have been told stories about it by your folks! I remember walking all around the top road before the gritter had got to it. Up Willows lane from Pendle St. all the way through Green Howarth, all the way round to Ossy, fantastic, the sky was crystal clear, no sound except us kids!!! Happy cold days!! :D

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Winter of 1962–1963 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I remember - had an outside loo and a steep backyard - hubby carrying chamberpot slipped and drenched himself :D

Re: Winter of 1963
 

I don,t think Fresh Air Freddy would be OUT in that weather!:eek:

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Fresh Air Freddy the Phantom Flasher:D quite a guy was our Freddy, he had the police on the hop alright, can remember two plain cloths police women walking the streets of Ossy trying to catch this chap, still can't remember if they ever did catch him or not:rolleyes:

Re: Winter of 1963
 

I remember the winter of 63, was my first when I left school, remember working on the new shops on Union Street Accy, my first job every morning was to make a fire so that all the lads could have a warm, it was real tatas that winter, defiantly 3 sweaters time:D

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Rumour had it that he flashed an old dear,who remarked that,

IT LOOKED LIKE A PENIS, ONLY SMALLER.

Maybe he gave it away after that;)

Re: Winter of 1963
 

I remember the winter of 1963 very well. I was expecting my first child and while everybody else seemed to be freezing I was lovely and warm. We used to go on walks round the dunkenhalgh , me as big as a house and my hubby trying to stop me from falling. Lovely times

Re: Winter of 1963
 

1963 I was an apprentice plumber and I spent 3 months repairing lead pipes in those outside loo's was that a miss spent youth

Re: Winter of 1963
 

I remember that winter , tho not till February 64 when I returned from Cyprus. Out of the warm into the white world of the UK. After being away for 2 1/2 years in the sunshine, was a shock to my system and thought I would never be warm again !!My kids loved it despite being made to wear coats and boots , hats etc. Nothing like pelting dad and grand dad with snowballs for them !

Re: Winter of 1963
 

In 1963 the 7.26 a.m. steam train from Accrington to Bury (then Manchester) came to a standstill just about every morning for 2 months. It was usually about Ramsbottom, nothing but banks of snow on either side of the track, like being in a white tunnel. It might be anything from 15 minutes to two hours and the carriages were never heated. :(

Not as bad as 1947 when there was a massive shortage of coal as well as the bad snow and there were regular power cuts. I was only 4, though, so I didn't have to catch trains then. :D

Re: Winter of 1963
 

was n apprentice butcher in 63, Slingers at Load Of Mischief, the late Harry Hawkins learnt me to play poker, along wi Bob Fletcher who is now a well known lakeland artist, was a pig of a winter, me n Darwendosser used to go to Chans Chippy every friday Teatime fer fish n chips fer all the butchers, who worked while 8-00, that was yer overtime.:( so as well as freezing ya got sod all fer it.:D

Re: Winter of 1963
 

I knew a Harry Hawkins, went to Woodnook Council School, was a butcher at Kemp & Murrays on the corner of Wellington St.

Retlaw.

Re: Winter of 1963
 

If he was a rather large fellow, ginger hair wi a large alcohol intake, twas the same one, loved the geezer.:D

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Thats him.

Retlaw

Re: Winter of 1963
 

That was my first winter in the building trade was working on the new Shops on Union Street in Accy, the main contractors were Mullen and Durkin from Dingle Land and Townley's from Accy did all the joinery, was my task first thing to light the fire in an oil drum so it would be warm for brew time:D

Re: Winter of 1963
 

The winter of 1963 was the coldest of the twentieth century, in the UK, and the coldest since 1740. The second coldest was 1947, when more snow fell, but average temperatures were not as low. Click on the dates to see weather reports for that day (taken from the Manchester Guardian booklet The Long Winter 1962-3.)

The Winter of 1963

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Good heavens, Jaysay, you really have brought some memories back.
I had the misfortune to 'see' Fresh air freddy twice ( my brother acuused me of going out looking for him!!)Obviously details of these encounters can't be posted on this forum but I do have a very good idea who he was, and if it was him, he was caught and imprisoned for something else. Perhaps this is info for a pm, don't you think??

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Forum rules say PMs is the way to go on this Sue and what do you meam Misfortune:D:D:D

Re: Winter of 1963
 

I was working for the gas board that winter and the frost went down so deep it allowed the gas to seep up and leak into houses. We were on 12 hour shifts 7 days a week just to cover leaks. We would go to find a leak at 2 in the morning and we had to sledge hammer the flags up, the lights would go on all down the street but no one complained, in fact lots came out with brews to keep us warm.

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Did this years snow make an impact????

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Didn't have an impact on me gdm:D

Re: Winter of 1963
 

just looking through the old stuff saw about hawkins did anyone know brian worswick also a butcher at slingers & a mate of hawkins used to get meat at 2 bob a lb brian been dead about 7 yrs now lived in spain as i do now still did a bit of butchering a good lad

Re: Winter of 1963
 

just thinking back to 63 lived on owen st acci been married 3 yrs no central heating no duvets just hot water bottles no double glazing ice on windows inside dont miss england this weather its been 18 in spain today washed & got dried a line full of washing i watch tele see the forcast & just think i will stay a while longer violet

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Brian lived on Dill Hall, i worked wi him, in fact got me dog "Red Setter Cross" off him in 63, daft as a brush at work was on the sausage machine, great bloke.;) sorry to hear brians gone.

Re: Winter of 1963
 

can go back a bit more i remember in the 40ties going up whinney hill tip with my dad & brother to find coal or cinders now thats what i call cold we had a sledge to bring back what we could i suppose today the kids would have a march with placards outside the town hall they call it progress eh violet

Re: Winter of 1963
 

hi yes he di the sausage he used to make us some special for xmas his wife joan is still living here in spain & is well she is kicking 80 now he was a bit of a ducker n diver but a great bloke we miss him he mated out with my hubby & me for well over 40 yrs violet

Re: Winter of 1963
 

also notice u r an old claytoner as i am myself in fact still am even though i have been in spain for 18 yrs im almost getting ready to come home spain is for the young but i have had a great time no regrets violet

Re: Winter of 1963
 

i only met joan the once, when i went to collect the puppy from Dill Hall.:)

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Another memory of that - and other cold winters - was that Whitewell Dairies used to send out a lorry - with chains - on deliveries instead of the usual milk float.

And with everyone having coal fires people put cinders down everywhere to help with icy pavements.

Messy afterwards, but useful at the time!

Rgds

John45378

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Was born Oct. '63 -knew from mum & dad that it was incredibly cold and snowy when they married Dec26th 1962. Honeymoon in Lake District at Keswick, Derwent Water was frozen over by all accounts -did a quick calculation -the cold kept them in and I was conceived!:D

Re: Winter of 1963
 

I remember going down Willows Lane to the Grammar School and the water main had burst at the end of Brown Street and was freezing as fast as the water was coming out. Willows Lane was solid ice all the way down past the Railway Bridge. The council workers could not get out of their yard to grit the road. We were watching cars sliding down and crashing into others and bouncing of the walls at either side of Willows Lane.

Re: Winter of 1963
 

The winter of 63 has a lot to answer far mobertol:D

Re: Winter of 1963
 

I remember the snow of 63, living on Pendle Street I opened the back door to use the outside privey and was met with a wall of snow, it had drifted up past the door frame. Had to use the shovel by the side of the fire for taking out the ashes to dig a tunnel outside. Just for the luxury of and outside privey with newspaper squares on a nail, bliss:pain30:

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Ya Dave the outside loo, think I was around at just the wrong time really, it was about the time that I was an happyrentice that people decided to have improvement grants which included an inside loo, which meant that the old long drop tippler had to be dug out, usually by yours truly, ugggggggg:D

Re: Winter of 1963
 

I remember little Harry. He was a good drinker. Do you guys remember the big tall fair haired bloke he used to drink with. They used the coctail bar in the big pub on the corner by the bus station. can,t think of its name. Maybe commercial or something. Had a grand piano in that room. They also used the Derby quite a bit. Last time I saw harry was in the Derby about Feb 1968. Think he was seeing one of the barmaids at the time. Great guy.

Re: Winter of 1963
 

we initialy had the long drop, we then went upmarket and had a porcelain pedestal instaled, still outside though, but we kept the newspaper squares for a few more years. I think we then splashed out on bulk paper from Uncle Dicks on the outside market that was when the market filled the space between the market hall and the town hall
:pain30:

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Ah we were very lucky in our house dave, my Mum worked for Hygiene Supplies in Stone Bridge Lane, who made a wide range of toilet rolls, and we got the seconds to use instead of the newspaper squares:D

Re: Winter of 1963
 

there was a downside to newspaper squares, you know when you read a newspaper and get print on your fingers, well I think thats were the song "black bottom" came from.:moon:

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Weren't the seconds the ones with the holes in them?

The old 'Observer' was always a nice texture. What's the current one like?

Re: Winter of 1963
 

How many rainforests could we save if we did the same today? (I'm not volunteering.)

Re: Winter of 1963
 

This has turned to toilet humour

Re: Winter of 1963
 

No funnily enough Gordon, they were the ones without the perforations:D

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Thats bog standard on here Max:D

Re: Winter of 1963
 

flushed with nostalgia

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Bit down in the dumps when I opened this thread, but you have all really made me laugh!!

Re: Winter of 1963
 

is dumps a nod to toilet humour

Re: Winter of 1963
 

There is actually a site called toilet humour Dave, its well worth a look if you want a good laugh for half an hour

Re: Winter of 1963
 

found it, I think a bit more than half an hour is required, but will give it a go.:pain30:

Re: Winter of 1963
 

Meant half an hour a day Dave:D