Winter of 1946-1947
Encyclopedia
The winter of 1946–1947 was a harsh European winter noted for its effects in the United Kingdom
. The UK experienced several cold spells, beginning on 21 January 1947, bringing large drifts
of snow to the country, which caused roads and railways to be blocked. Coal supplies, already low following the Second World War, struggled to get through to power station
s and many stations were forced to shut down for lack of fuel. The government introduced several measures to cut power consumption, including restricting domestic electricity to 19 hours per day and cutting industrial supplies completely. In addition, radio broadcasts were limited, television services were suspended, some magazines were ordered to stop being published and newspapers were cut in size. These measures badly affected public morale and turned the Minister of Fuel and Power, Emanuel Shinwell, into a scapegoat
; he received death threats and had to be placed under police guard. Towards the end of February there were also fears of a food shortage as supplies were cut off and vegetables frozen into the ground.
Mid-March brought milder air to the country which thawed the snow lying on the ground. This snowmelt
ran off the frozen ground straight into rivers and caused widespread flooding. More than 100,000 properties were affected and the Army
and foreign aid agencies were forced to provide humanitarian aid. With the cold weather over and the ground thawing there were no further weather problems. The winter had severe effects on British industries with around 10% of the year's industrial production lost, cereal
and potato crops down 10–20% and one quarter of sheep stocks lost. The ruling Labour Party
began to lose popularity which led to their loss of a large number of seats to the Conservative Party
in the 1950 election
. The winter is also cited as a factor in the devaluation
of the pound from $4.03 to $2.80, Britain's decline from superpower
status and the introduction of the Marshall Plan
to aid war-torn Europe
. The effects on the rest of Europe were also severe with 150 deaths from cold and famine in Berlin, civil disorder in the Netherlands and business closures in the Republic of Ireland.
The effects of the cold winter were exacerbated by problems in the energy sector
which included low supplies of coal. The coal and electricity industries had been recently nationalised by Clement Attlee's
government and placed under the control of the Minister of Fuel and Power, Emanuel Shinwell. Whilst Shinwell oversaw efforts to increase production there were concerns that the coal supply was inadequate. At the start of the winter the coal stockpiles contained enough coal to last for just four weeks, compared to the usual supplies of ten to twelve weeks which existed before the war. However Shinwell allowed himself to be lulled into a false sense of security by over-optimistic productivity reports from the miners' union (NUM). These reports failed to translate into actual production as the government feared to take on the NUM whose members' absentee rates were 2.5 times that of pre-war. The potential for a coal shortage caused the public to purchase electric fires to ensure a source of heat for their homes. This, in turn, placed a greater strain on the supply of electricity – the monthly demand increase caused by electric fires in 1946 was roughly the same as the annual increase in generating capacity. Shinwell was warned in mid-October that a coal shortage was possible but gambled on a mild winter to keep consumption low so that he would not have to risk a confrontation with the miners.
from 20 January. This high pressure area
blocked the progression of low pressure depressions
across the Atlantic Ocean
and forced them to the south of the United Kingdom resulting in strong easterly winds, which brought snow to Eastern England and South East England
before progressing across the entire country. This cold spell continued and by 30 January the Isles of Scilly
were under 7 inches (18 cm) of snow and the overnight temperature at Writtle
, Essex
was −20 °C. Over January the highest recorded temperature in England and Wales
was 14 °C and the minimum was −21 °C.
there was no recorded temperature above 5 °C for the month and only twice was the overnight temperature above 0 °C. Nationally, levels of sun recorded were less than half the average and no sun at all was recorded at Kew for twenty days from 2 February. On 20 February the ferry service across the English Channel
between Dover
and Ostend
was suspended due to pack ice off the Belgian
coast. In some places snow fell on 26 days out of 28 in the month and a temperature of −21 °C was recorded at Woburn
, Bedfordshire
on 25 February. As a result, railways were badly affected by drifts of light powdery snow and 300 main roads were made unusable. Several hundred villages were cut off. Ice floes were also seen off the coast of East Anglia
, causing a hazard to shipping.
This cold weather exacerbated the fuel problem. Stockpiles of coal at the pits and depots froze solid and could not be moved. The stockpiled coal was often unavailable with roads out of use and 750,000 railway waggons
of coal trapped by the snow. Desperate attempts were made to get fuel to power stations by coal-carrying ships
which risked storms, fog and ice to reach their destination. A force of 100,000 British
and Polish troops and German
PoWs were put to work clearing snow from the railways by hand. Despite this, lack of fuel forced many power stations to shut down or reduce their output. The Royal Navy
launched Operation Blackcurrant
, which used diesel generators onboard submarines to provide supplementary power to coastal towns and dockyards.
Shinwell acted to reduce consumption of coal by cutting the electricity supply to industry completely and reducing the domestic supply to 19 hours per day across the country. In consequence factories across the country were forced to shut and up to four million people claimed unemployment benefits. Although so many people were made redundant there was little unrest and no major public disorders. Television services were suspended completely, radio broadcasts were reduced, some magazines were ordered to stop being published, and newspapers were cut in size to four pages (= one sheet). Food rations, still in use from the Second World War, were cut to levels lower than in the war years. These measures made little difference to the rate of coal consumption but served to reduce public morale.
Despite Shinwell's actions the fuel supply remained insufficient and blackout
s occurred across large swathes of the country with even the staff at Buckingham Palace
, the Houses of Parliament and London's Central Electricity Board
reduced to working by candle
light. A trade meeting with representatives from Russia
and Iceland
was also forced to meet without light or heat, ironically one of the items discussed was the purchase of coal from Britain. The public was reduced to queueing at gasworks
to collect coke
for use as fuel. Supplies of aspirin
also ran low as it was then a product of coal-tar, thousands of chickens in poultry farms died of the cold, and public transport services were cut to save fuel. Shinwell became increasingly unpopular with the general public and received a bomb threat which meant that he had to be guarded at his house in Tooting
by four policemen. Despite this, he remained very popular with the miners, which made the government wary of firing him in case it caused industrial action. By the 27th of February sea conditions had improved and more than 100 coal ships had managed to unload their cargoes at the power stations, easing the fuel crisis.
During this period there was a fear that, despite the rationing, food supplies could run out, and several measures were taken to prevent this. This due to the effects of the cold on vegetables, livestock and delivery vehicles. The government started a campaign to popularise Snoek
, an inexpensive South Africa
n variety of fish. This campaign was largely unsuccessful as the public found the fish unpalatable and the stocks of it were eventually used as cat food. Many winter root vegetables could not be harvested as they were frozen into the ground, and in some areas pneumatic drills
were used to excavate them. Frost destroyed 70,000 tons of potatoes and, as a result, they were rationed for the first time.
. On 5 March one of the worst British blizzard
s of the 20th century occurred. Food supplies were again affected by the snow-bound roads and in some places the police requested permission to break into delivery lorries stranded by the snow.
On 10 March milder air of 7–10 °C began to move north across the country from the south west, rapidly thawing the snow lying on low ground. After such a long frost the ground stayed frozen, causing much surface run off which resulted in widespread flooding. Further heavy snowfalls occurred as the milder air pushed northwards. On the 14th March the deepest ever recorded depth of snow lying in an inhabited location was measured at Forest in Teesdale in County Durham at 83" or 211cm. On March 15 a deepening depression moved in from the Atlantic, bringing heavy rain and gales. It was the start of the wettest March for 300 years. By the 16 March winds reached 50 knots (98 km/h), gusting to 90 knots (176.4 km/h), causing breaches in dykes in East Anglia
resulting in the flooding of 100 square miles (259 km²) of land, and blowing many trees down. The River Thames
and the River Lea flooded in London
causing the Windsor
borough engineer Geoffrey Baker to remark "We could only cope if we had a spare Thames, or two".
On 18 March the River Trent
, swollen with the extra water which was prevented from emptying into the sea by a spring tide, burst its banks at Nottingham
, reaching first floor height. The flooding subsided in the west of the country by 20 March but rivers in the east were still rising and the Wharfe
, Derwent
, Aire
and Ouse
all burst their banks in the West Riding of Yorkshire
. Selby
was also badly affected with 70% of houses being flooded. More than 100,000 properties were affected by the flooding and the Army
worked to prevent the spread of the floodwater, particularly at pumping plants and power stations. Royal Engineers
on national service
handed out milk to families with babies and the Australian Red Cross
assisted in Gloucester
. The people of Canada
sent food parcels to villages in Suffolk
and the Premier of Ontario
, George A. Drew, offered to help to distribute them personally. The flooding lasted for about a week, with some waters taking an additional ten days to subside.
was cheered by the crowd but prime minister Clement Attlee
was booed. Emmanuel Shinwell, unpopular with the public, was made a scapegoat
and sacked from his ministerial position. Despite this, the winter is cited as a factor in Labour's loss of a large number of seats to the Conservative Party
led by Churchill in the 1950 election
.
The effects of the winter came at a time of heavy government spending with 15% of the GDP being spent on the armed forces and large expenditure on the new National Health Service
and post-war reconstruction. This made the currency less stable and, coupled with the emergence of the dollar as the currency of choice for foreign reserves, led to the government slashing the Bretton Woods official exchange rate
from $4.03 to $2.80. This was a major event in Britain's decline from superpower
status. With the country struggling to feed its people at home and those it was responsible for in war-torn Europe, it also caused the USA to take a greater interest in Europe and push through the Marshall Plan
for assistance to Britain and the continent. In addition, the winter is cited as the reason for the emigration
of thousands of British people, particularly to Australia. The winter as a whole was less cold than the winter of 1963 but more snow was recorded.
. De Bilt
, near Amsterdam
in the Netherlands, experienced its worst winter since 1790. Because of the anticyclone
to the north of the United Kingdom
several incoming Atlantic depressions which would normally have hit Britain were forced south to the Mediterranean region, resulting in Portugal, Spain and Southern France having more rain than usual while remaining relatively warm. For example the February rainfall at Gibraltar
was 9.3 inches (236.2 mm), three times the average. As a result France
experienced both the extreme cold in the north, and much rain in the south. The winter caused 150 deaths from the cold and lack of food in Berlin
, still recovering from the Second World War. It forced closure of schools in the Netherlands, a mob to attack a goods train carrying coal in Copenhagen
, and closure of businesses and limitation of the domestic gas supply in the Republic of Ireland.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The UK experienced several cold spells, beginning on 21 January 1947, bringing large drifts
Snowdrift
A snowdrift is a deposit of snow sculpted by wind into a mound during a snowstorm. Snowdrifts resemble sand dunes and are formed in a similar manner, namely, by wind moving light snow and depositing it when the wind is slowed, usually against a stationary object. Snow normally crests and slopes...
of snow to the country, which caused roads and railways to be blocked. Coal supplies, already low following the Second World War, struggled to get through to power station
Power station
A power station is an industrial facility for the generation of electric energy....
s and many stations were forced to shut down for lack of fuel. The government introduced several measures to cut power consumption, including restricting domestic electricity to 19 hours per day and cutting industrial supplies completely. In addition, radio broadcasts were limited, television services were suspended, some magazines were ordered to stop being published and newspapers were cut in size. These measures badly affected public morale and turned the Minister of Fuel and Power, Emanuel Shinwell, into a scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
; he received death threats and had to be placed under police guard. Towards the end of February there were also fears of a food shortage as supplies were cut off and vegetables frozen into the ground.
Mid-March brought milder air to the country which thawed the snow lying on the ground. This snowmelt
Snowmelt
In hydrology, snowmelt is surface runoff produced from melting snow. It can also be used to describe the period or season during which such runoff is produced. Water produced by snowmelt is an important part of the annual water cycle in many parts of the world, in some cases contributing high...
ran off the frozen ground straight into rivers and caused widespread flooding. More than 100,000 properties were affected and the Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and foreign aid agencies were forced to provide humanitarian aid. With the cold weather over and the ground thawing there were no further weather problems. The winter had severe effects on British industries with around 10% of the year's industrial production lost, cereal
Cereal
Cereals are grasses cultivated for the edible components of their grain , composed of the endosperm, germ, and bran...
and potato crops down 10–20% and one quarter of sheep stocks lost. The ruling Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
began to lose popularity which led to their loss of a large number of seats to the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
in the 1950 election
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
. The winter is also cited as a factor in the devaluation
Devaluation
Devaluation is a reduction in the value of a currency with respect to those goods, services or other monetary units with which that currency can be exchanged....
of the pound from $4.03 to $2.80, Britain's decline from superpower
Superpower
A superpower is a state with a dominant position in the international system which has the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests...
status and the introduction of the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
to aid war-torn Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The effects on the rest of Europe were also severe with 150 deaths from cold and famine in Berlin, civil disorder in the Netherlands and business closures in the Republic of Ireland.
Fuel shortage
Energy industry
The energy industry is the totality of all of the industries involved in the production and sale of energy, including fuel extraction, manufacturing, refining and distribution...
which included low supplies of coal. The coal and electricity industries had been recently nationalised by Clement Attlee's
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
government and placed under the control of the Minister of Fuel and Power, Emanuel Shinwell. Whilst Shinwell oversaw efforts to increase production there were concerns that the coal supply was inadequate. At the start of the winter the coal stockpiles contained enough coal to last for just four weeks, compared to the usual supplies of ten to twelve weeks which existed before the war. However Shinwell allowed himself to be lulled into a false sense of security by over-optimistic productivity reports from the miners' union (NUM). These reports failed to translate into actual production as the government feared to take on the NUM whose members' absentee rates were 2.5 times that of pre-war. The potential for a coal shortage caused the public to purchase electric fires to ensure a source of heat for their homes. This, in turn, placed a greater strain on the supply of electricity – the monthly demand increase caused by electric fires in 1946 was roughly the same as the annual increase in generating capacity. Shinwell was warned in mid-October that a coal shortage was possible but gambled on a mild winter to keep consumption low so that he would not have to risk a confrontation with the miners.
January
The winter began with two periods of cold weather in December 1946 and January 1947, but the coldest period did not begin until 21 January 1947. The main cause of the cold weather was an anti-cyclone which sat over ScandinaviaScandinavia
Scandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
from 20 January. This high pressure area
High pressure area
A high-pressure area is a region where the atmospheric pressure at the surface of the planet is greater than its surrounding environment. Winds within high-pressure areas flow outward due to the higher density air near their center and friction with land...
blocked the progression of low pressure depressions
Low pressure area
A low-pressure area, or "low", is a region where the atmospheric pressure at sea level is below that of surrounding locations. Low-pressure systems form under areas of wind divergence which occur in upper levels of the troposphere. The formation process of a low-pressure area is known as...
across the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
and forced them to the south of the United Kingdom resulting in strong easterly winds, which brought snow to Eastern England and South East England
South East England
South East England is one of the nine official regions of England, designated in 1994 and adopted for statistical purposes in 1999. It consists of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, East Sussex, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Kent, Oxfordshire, Surrey and West Sussex...
before progressing across the entire country. This cold spell continued and by 30 January the Isles of Scilly
Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly form an archipelago off the southwestern tip of the Cornish peninsula of Great Britain. The islands have had a unitary authority council since 1890, and are separate from the Cornwall unitary authority, but some services are combined with Cornwall and the islands are still part...
were under 7 inches (18 cm) of snow and the overnight temperature at Writtle
Writtle
The village of Writtle lies a mile west of Chelmsford, Essex, England, it has a traditional village green, complete with duck pond and a Norman church; and was once described as: 'one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishing variety of ancient cottages'...
, Essex
Essex
Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...
was −20 °C. Over January the highest recorded temperature in England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
was 14 °C and the minimum was −21 °C.
February
The easterly winds continued into February, which developed into one of the coldest months on record. At Kew ObservatoryKew Observatory
Kew Observatory was an astronomical and terrestrial magnetic observatoryfounded by King George III , located within the Old Deer Park of the former Richmond Palace in Richmond, Surrey, now within Greater London. The former royal manor of Kew lies to the immediate north...
there was no recorded temperature above 5 °C for the month and only twice was the overnight temperature above 0 °C. Nationally, levels of sun recorded were less than half the average and no sun at all was recorded at Kew for twenty days from 2 February. On 20 February the ferry service across the English Channel
English Channel
The English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
between Dover
Dover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
and Ostend
Ostend
Ostend is a Belgian city and municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It comprises the boroughs of Mariakerke , Stene and Zandvoorde, and the city of Ostend proper – the largest on the Belgian coast....
was suspended due to pack ice off the Belgian
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
coast. In some places snow fell on 26 days out of 28 in the month and a temperature of −21 °C was recorded at Woburn
Woburn, Bedfordshire
Woburn is a small Saxon village and civil parish in Bedfordshire, England. It is situated about southeast of the centre of Milton Keynes, and about south of junction 13 of the M1 motorway and is a popular tourist attraction.-History:...
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
on 25 February. As a result, railways were badly affected by drifts of light powdery snow and 300 main roads were made unusable. Several hundred villages were cut off. Ice floes were also seen off the coast of East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
, causing a hazard to shipping.
This cold weather exacerbated the fuel problem. Stockpiles of coal at the pits and depots froze solid and could not be moved. The stockpiled coal was often unavailable with roads out of use and 750,000 railway waggons
Railroad car
A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...
of coal trapped by the snow. Desperate attempts were made to get fuel to power stations by coal-carrying ships
Collier (ship type)
Collier is a historical term used to describe a bulk cargo ship designed to carry coal, especially for naval use by coal-fired warships. In the late 18th century a number of wooden-hulled sailing colliers gained fame after being adapted for use in voyages of exploration in the South Pacific, for...
which risked storms, fog and ice to reach their destination. A force of 100,000 British
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and Polish troops and German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
PoWs were put to work clearing snow from the railways by hand. Despite this, lack of fuel forced many power stations to shut down or reduce their output. The Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
launched Operation Blackcurrant
Operation Blackcurrant
Operation Blackcurrant was a Royal Navy peacetime operation carried out in the winter of 1947. During this period a combination of low coal stockpiles and the effects of the cold weather on the transport network led to a shortage of fuel reaching power stations, forcing many to shut down or reduce...
, which used diesel generators onboard submarines to provide supplementary power to coastal towns and dockyards.
Shinwell acted to reduce consumption of coal by cutting the electricity supply to industry completely and reducing the domestic supply to 19 hours per day across the country. In consequence factories across the country were forced to shut and up to four million people claimed unemployment benefits. Although so many people were made redundant there was little unrest and no major public disorders. Television services were suspended completely, radio broadcasts were reduced, some magazines were ordered to stop being published, and newspapers were cut in size to four pages (= one sheet). Food rations, still in use from the Second World War, were cut to levels lower than in the war years. These measures made little difference to the rate of coal consumption but served to reduce public morale.
Despite Shinwell's actions the fuel supply remained insufficient and blackout
Power outage
A power outage is a short- or long-term loss of the electric power to an area.There are many causes of power failures in an electricity network...
s occurred across large swathes of the country with even the staff at Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace
Buckingham Palace, in London, is the principal residence and office of the British monarch. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is a setting for state occasions and royal hospitality...
, the Houses of Parliament and London's Central Electricity Board
Central Electricity Board
The United Kingdom Central Electricity Board was set up under The Electricity Act 1926 to standardise the nation's electricity supply. At that time, the industry consisted of more than 600 electricity supply companies and local authority undertakings, and different areas operated at different...
reduced to working by candle
Candle
A candle is a solid block or cylinder of wax with an embedded wick, which is lit to provide light, and sometimes heat.Today, most candles are made from paraffin. Candles can also be made from beeswax, soy, other plant waxes, and tallow...
light. A trade meeting with representatives from Russia
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
was also forced to meet without light or heat, ironically one of the items discussed was the purchase of coal from Britain. The public was reduced to queueing at gasworks
Gasworks
A gasworks or gas house is a factory for the manufacture of gas. The use of natural gas has made many redundant in the developed world, however they are often still used for storage.- Early gasworks :...
to collect coke
Coke (fuel)
Coke is the solid carbonaceous material derived from destructive distillation of low-ash, low-sulfur bituminous coal. Cokes from coal are grey, hard, and porous. While coke can be formed naturally, the commonly used form is man-made.- History :...
for use as fuel. Supplies of aspirin
Aspirin
Aspirin , also known as acetylsalicylic acid , is a salicylate drug, often used as an analgesic to relieve minor aches and pains, as an antipyretic to reduce fever, and as an anti-inflammatory medication. It was discovered by Arthur Eichengrun, a chemist with the German company Bayer...
also ran low as it was then a product of coal-tar, thousands of chickens in poultry farms died of the cold, and public transport services were cut to save fuel. Shinwell became increasingly unpopular with the general public and received a bomb threat which meant that he had to be guarded at his house in Tooting
Tooting
Tooting is a district in south London, England, located in the London Borough of Wandsworth. It is situated south south-west of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London.-History:...
by four policemen. Despite this, he remained very popular with the miners, which made the government wary of firing him in case it caused industrial action. By the 27th of February sea conditions had improved and more than 100 coal ships had managed to unload their cargoes at the power stations, easing the fuel crisis.
During this period there was a fear that, despite the rationing, food supplies could run out, and several measures were taken to prevent this. This due to the effects of the cold on vegetables, livestock and delivery vehicles. The government started a campaign to popularise Snoek
Thyrsites atun
Thyrsites atun, the "snoek" or "Cape snoek", is a long, thin, perch-like commercial food fish belonging to the Gempylidae family. It is found in the seas of the Southern Hemisphere. It is also known in Australasia as barracouta though it is not related to the barracuda.It can grow up to long and...
, an inexpensive South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
n variety of fish. This campaign was largely unsuccessful as the public found the fish unpalatable and the stocks of it were eventually used as cat food. Many winter root vegetables could not be harvested as they were frozen into the ground, and in some areas pneumatic drills
Jackhammer
A jackhammer is a pneumatic tool that combines a hammer directly with a chisel that was invented by Charles Brady King. Hand-held jackhammers are typically powered by compressed air, but some use electric motors. Larger jackhammers, such as rig mounted hammers used on construction machinery, are...
were used to excavate them. Frost destroyed 70,000 tons of potatoes and, as a result, they were rationed for the first time.
March
On 4–5 March came heavy snow which left drifts across much of the country with some lying 7 metres (23 ft) deep in the Scottish HighlandsScottish Highlands
The Highlands is an historic region of Scotland. The area is sometimes referred to as the "Scottish Highlands". It was culturally distinguishable from the Lowlands from the later Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands...
. On 5 March one of the worst British blizzard
Blizzard
A blizzard is a severe snowstorm characterized by strong winds. By definition, the difference between blizzard and a snowstorm is the strength of the wind. To be a blizzard, a snow storm must have winds in excess of with blowing or drifting snow which reduces visibility to 400 meters or ¼ mile or...
s of the 20th century occurred. Food supplies were again affected by the snow-bound roads and in some places the police requested permission to break into delivery lorries stranded by the snow.
On 10 March milder air of 7–10 °C began to move north across the country from the south west, rapidly thawing the snow lying on low ground. After such a long frost the ground stayed frozen, causing much surface run off which resulted in widespread flooding. Further heavy snowfalls occurred as the milder air pushed northwards. On the 14th March the deepest ever recorded depth of snow lying in an inhabited location was measured at Forest in Teesdale in County Durham at 83" or 211cm. On March 15 a deepening depression moved in from the Atlantic, bringing heavy rain and gales. It was the start of the wettest March for 300 years. By the 16 March winds reached 50 knots (98 km/h), gusting to 90 knots (176.4 km/h), causing breaches in dykes in East Anglia
East Anglia
East Anglia is a traditional name for a region of eastern England, named after an ancient Anglo-Saxon kingdom, the Kingdom of the East Angles. The Angles took their name from their homeland Angeln, in northern Germany. East Anglia initially consisted of Norfolk and Suffolk, but upon the marriage of...
resulting in the flooding of 100 square miles (259 km²) of land, and blowing many trees down. The River Thames
River Thames
The River Thames flows through southern England. It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom. While it is best known because its lower reaches flow through central London, the river flows alongside several other towns and cities, including Oxford,...
and the River Lea flooded in London
1947 Thames flood
The 1947 Thames flood was worst overall 20th century flood of the River Thames, affecting much of the Thames Valley as well as elsewhere in England during the middle of March 1947 after a severe winter....
causing the Windsor
Windsor, Berkshire
Windsor is an affluent suburban town and unparished area in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in Berkshire, England. It is widely known as the site of Windsor Castle, one of the official residences of the British Royal Family....
borough engineer Geoffrey Baker to remark "We could only cope if we had a spare Thames, or two".
On 18 March the River Trent
River Trent
The River Trent is one of the major rivers of England. Its source is in Staffordshire on the southern edge of Biddulph Moor. It flows through the Midlands until it joins the River Ouse at Trent Falls to form the Humber Estuary, which empties into the North Sea below Hull and Immingham.The Trent...
, swollen with the extra water which was prevented from emptying into the sea by a spring tide, burst its banks at Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
, reaching first floor height. The flooding subsided in the west of the country by 20 March but rivers in the east were still rising and the Wharfe
River Wharfe
The River Wharfe is a river in Yorkshire, England. For much of its length it is the county boundary between West Yorkshire and North Yorkshire. The name Wharfe is Celtic and means "twisting, winding".The valley of the River Wharfe is known as Wharfedale...
, Derwent
River Derwent, Yorkshire
The Derwent is a river in Yorkshire in the north of England. It is used for water abstraction, leisure and sporting activities and effluent disposal as well as being of significant importance as the site of several nature reserves...
, Aire
River Aire
The River Aire is a major river in Yorkshire, England of length . Part of the river is canalised, and is known as the Aire and Calder Navigation....
and Ouse
River Ouse, Yorkshire
The River Ouse is a river in North Yorkshire, England. The river is formed from the River Ure at Cuddy Shaw Reach near Linton-on-Ouse, about 6 miles downstream of the confluence of the River Swale with the River Ure...
all burst their banks in the West Riding of Yorkshire
West Riding of Yorkshire
The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...
. Selby
Selby
Selby is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Situated south of the city of York, along the course of the River Ouse, Selby is the largest and, with a population of 13,012, most populous settlement of the wider Selby local government district.Historically a part of the West Riding...
was also badly affected with 70% of houses being flooded. More than 100,000 properties were affected by the flooding and the Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
worked to prevent the spread of the floodwater, particularly at pumping plants and power stations. Royal Engineers
Royal Engineers
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually just called the Royal Engineers , and commonly known as the Sappers, is one of the corps of the British Army....
on national service
Conscription in the United Kingdom
Conscription in the United Kingdom has existed for two periods in modern times. The first was from 1916 to 1919, the second was from 1939 to 1960, with the last conscripted soldiers leaving the service in 1963...
handed out milk to families with babies and the Australian Red Cross
Australian Red Cross
The Australian Red Cross is one of the many national Red Cross societies around the world. The Australian organisation was established in 1914, nine days after the commencement of World War I, by Karen Tenenbaum, when she formed a branch of the British Red Cross.the organisation grew at a rapid rate...
assisted in Gloucester
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
. The people of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
sent food parcels to villages in Suffolk
Suffolk
Suffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
and the Premier of Ontario
Premier of Ontario
The Premier of Ontario is the first Minister of the Crown for the Canadian province of Ontario. The Premier is appointed as the province's head of government by the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario, and presides over the Executive council, or Cabinet. The Executive Council Act The Premier of Ontario...
, George A. Drew, offered to help to distribute them personally. The flooding lasted for about a week, with some waters taking an additional ten days to subside.
Legacy
The winter had a lasting effect on Britain's industry; by February 1947 it was already estimated that that year's industrial output would be down by 10%. The effects of the March floods added a further £250–375 million (equivalent to £3–4.5 billion in 2007) in damage. Farming was particularly badly hit with cereal and potato harvests down 10–20% on the previous two years. Sheep farmers lost one quarter of their flocks and it would be six years before sheep numbers recovered. The winter also had political ramifications and caused the public to lose faith in a Labour government who could not maintain food and electricity supplies. An example of this emerged when, at Mary Churchill's wedding on 11 February, her father, Winston ChurchillWinston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
was cheered by the crowd but prime minister Clement Attlee
Clement Attlee
Clement Richard Attlee, 1st Earl Attlee, KG, OM, CH, PC, FRS was a British Labour politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1945 to 1951, and as the Leader of the Labour Party from 1935 to 1955...
was booed. Emmanuel Shinwell, unpopular with the public, was made a scapegoat
Scapegoat
Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any party for unmerited negative treatment or blame. Scapegoating may be conducted by individuals against individuals , individuals against groups , groups against individuals , and groups against groups Scapegoating is the practice of singling out any...
and sacked from his ministerial position. Despite this, the winter is cited as a factor in Labour's loss of a large number of seats to the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
led by Churchill in the 1950 election
United Kingdom general election, 1950
The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
.
The effects of the winter came at a time of heavy government spending with 15% of the GDP being spent on the armed forces and large expenditure on the new National Health Service
National Health Service
The National Health Service is the shared name of three of the four publicly funded healthcare systems in the United Kingdom. They provide a comprehensive range of health services, the vast majority of which are free at the point of use to residents of the United Kingdom...
and post-war reconstruction. This made the currency less stable and, coupled with the emergence of the dollar as the currency of choice for foreign reserves, led to the government slashing the Bretton Woods official exchange rate
Bretton Woods system
The Bretton Woods system of monetary management established the rules for commercial and financial relations among the world's major industrial states in the mid 20th century...
from $4.03 to $2.80. This was a major event in Britain's decline from superpower
Superpower
A superpower is a state with a dominant position in the international system which has the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests...
status. With the country struggling to feed its people at home and those it was responsible for in war-torn Europe, it also caused the USA to take a greater interest in Europe and push through the Marshall Plan
Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
for assistance to Britain and the continent. In addition, the winter is cited as the reason for the emigration
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
of thousands of British people, particularly to Australia. The winter as a whole was less cold than the winter of 1963 but more snow was recorded.
Outside the United Kingdom
The winter affected many other European countries. Similar cold periods and snow falls were seen in much of Central Europe and the southern Baltic regionBaltic region
The terms Baltic region, Baltic Rim countries, and Baltic Rim refer to slightly different combinations of countries in the general area surrounding the Baltic Sea.- Etymology :...
. De Bilt
De Bilt
De Bilt is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of Utrecht.-Population centres :The municipality of De Bilt consists of the following cities, towns, villages and/or districts: Bilthoven, De Bilt, Groenekan, Hollandsche Rading, Maartensdijk, Westbroek...
, near Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
in the Netherlands, experienced its worst winter since 1790. Because of the anticyclone
Anticyclone
An anticyclone is a weather phenomenon defined by the United States' National Weather Service's glossary as "[a] large-scale circulation of winds around a central region of high atmospheric pressure, clockwise in the Northern Hemisphere, counterclockwise in the Southern Hemisphere"...
to the north of the United Kingdom
North Britain
North Britain is a term which has been occasionally used, particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries, for either the northern part of Great Britain or to Scotland, which occupies the northernmost third of the island...
several incoming Atlantic depressions which would normally have hit Britain were forced south to the Mediterranean region, resulting in Portugal, Spain and Southern France having more rain than usual while remaining relatively warm. For example the February rainfall at Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
was 9.3 inches (236.2 mm), three times the average. As a result France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
experienced both the extreme cold in the north, and much rain in the south. The winter caused 150 deaths from the cold and lack of food in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, still recovering from the Second World War. It forced closure of schools in the Netherlands, a mob to attack a goods train carrying coal in Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, and closure of businesses and limitation of the domestic gas supply in the Republic of Ireland.
See also
- 1947 Thames flood1947 Thames floodThe 1947 Thames flood was worst overall 20th century flood of the River Thames, affecting much of the Thames Valley as well as elsewhere in England during the middle of March 1947 after a severe winter....
- Winter of 1962–1963 in the United Kingdom
- January 1987 Southeast England snowfallJanuary 1987 Southeast England snowfallThe January 1987 snowfall was a very heavy lake-effect type snow event that affected the areas of East Anglia, South-East England and London between the 11th and 14th of January and was the heaviest snowfall to fall in that part of the United Kingdom since the winter of 1981/82...
- Winter of 1990–1991 in Western EuropeWinter of 1990–1991 in Western EuropeThe winter of 1990–1991 was a particularly cold winter in Western Europe, noted especially for its effect on the United Kingdom, and for two significantly heavy falls of snow which occurred in December 1990 and February 1991. Sandwiched in between was a period of high winds and heavy rain which...