Winter never to be forgotten – ‘The big snow-up brought chaos and cars were abandoned in streets’

Winter never to be forgotten – ‘The big snow-up brought chaos and cars were abandoned in streets’

25 January 2023

IT might have been chilly last week, but it was nothing compared to what was experienced 60 years ago.

The winter of 1963 was the coldest on record. It was known as the ‘Big Freeze’, bringing blizzards, snow drifts, and temperatures lower than -20 °C. It was colder than the winter of 1947, and the coldest since 1740.

The whole of the UK and Ireland were affected. In some places it began freezing on Christmas Day in 1962 and barely relented until the following March.

In Co Down the snow came in January and February, bringing chaos and hardship in its wake. Entire towns and villages were cut off, roads were made impassable by huge snowdrifts and there were major concerns over supplies of food and coal, which heated just about every home.

The plummeting temperatures were welcomed by some, especially children who got a few days off school. For winter sports enthusiasts skating became possible as lakes froze over and there were even ice hockey matches, including at Ballydugan outside Downpatrick. But for most people the Big Freeze was something to be endured and not enjoyed.

On January 25, the Down Recorder reported: “The weekend blizzard, Northern Ireland’s worst since 1947, spread chaos. Dozens of roads were blocked and motoring organisations were flooded by phone calls from drivers forced to abandon their cars.

“In South and East Down the roads were like glass, although in Downpatrick the streets were kept free of ice because of the hard-working efforts of Council workers.

“Sportswise, the town and district had another blank weekend, but children held their own winter sports, meeting on the marshes, which provided an excellent skating rink.

“In many parts of the Quolle river, especially in the more open sections, ice bearing inches of snow extends from bank to bank. And there is also ice on several parts of Strangford Lough.

“Meanwhile, it is feared that the deep freeze, now entering its fifth week, will bring housewives, already hit by water shortages, burst pipes, etc, fresh headaches.

“The Coal Board warns that if the cold spell continues supplies of coal could become a problem.

“In Downpatrick, however, there will be no shortage. Although local flooded out with orders, stocks are high, thanks to careful summer planning.”

A spokesman for one firm said: “We are working at full steam to meet the demand, so there may be a slight delivery delay. But there is plenty of coal for everyone.

“Housewives may also be hit by a vegetable shortage. In some parts of the province the price of carrots and parsnips have doubled — and even trebled.

“In Downpatrick a greengrocer feared that dwindling supplies would cause prices to rocket. A country grower said the big snag was digging the vegetables out of the soil. Some farmers were suing picks to fracture the bone-hard ground.”

However, worse was to follow. Just over a week later, on Tuesday, February 5, a much larger blizzard struck Co Down and most of the rest of the province. Towns, villages and rural communities were once cut off. Electricity supplies failed as a result of power lines being brought down under the weight of the snow and there was no public transport.

Three days later the Recorder edition of February 8 described it as “white hell”.

The paper reported: “In Downpatrick the big snow-up brought chaos. Cars were abandoned in main streets. All UTA services were suspended. After the heroic efforts of the Electricity Board officials and workmen, who worked non-stop for 48 hours, the electricity supply was switched on late on Thursday afternoon.

“The blizzard blacked out the mail and prevented the daily newspapers getting through from Belfast. Television aerials, too, took a beating. Hundreds were bent and broken by the weight of the snow.”

At Downe Hospital the paper said the situation was described as “not too bad”, but a lack of food and milk was causing concern and heating was severely affected.

“Cooking was done on an anthracite range and in small kitchens off the wards on gas cookers, which had been sent in. The wards were quite comfortable and patients had no complaints. Most of the staff were able to make to the hospital.

“A limited quantity of bread was baked in the kitchen and it was hoped that a supply would arrive from Belfast today.

“Similar conditions existed at Downshire Hospital where the emergency heating and lighting arrangements were not capable of coping wit the conditions.

“Most of the patients had to be kept in bed and meals, normally transported by van, had to be taken on foot.

“Here again, there was a shortage bread and milk, but the staff of both hospitals, as usual, coped excellently with the situation.”

In Ballynahinch it was a similar story, according to the Recorder.

“Ballynahinch, like Downpatrick, was knocked out because of the show,” it said. “A number of  buses, lorries and cars were trapped in deep snow drifts leading out of the town.

“In the streets on Wednesday traffic came to a complete standstill. Even on Thursday only a single line of traffic was able to weave its way through the town. It was hoped to open the main road to Belfast tomorrow.”

The Recorder reported a number of selfless acts of heroism, including the feats of five Electricity Board workmen who trudged for four hours after their lorry got stuck in a snowdrift four miles from Saintfield.

Soldiers based in Ballykinlar helped deliver much-needed coal, paraffin oil and food to pensioners trapped in their houses in country areas and also got out their shovels to clear roads,.

Police helped motorists dig their cars out of drifts and transported people to visit their sick relatives in hospital.

A sudden thaw on the Thursday should have brought some relief, but instead it only added to the problems.

In Downpatrick fire brigade and council personnel battled to keep flood water in Market Street from rising to danger levels.

Shopkeepers battled to save their stock, but in many cases their efforts were in vain. One shopkeeper told the Recorder: “I don’t know how much all this has cost me. I daren’t think about it. But it will take a long time to get over it.”

Sixty years on, people are still getting over the Big Freeze of 1963.