Alma Road, looking south towards Clarence Road junction.

The road was tinted brown from the brown rock salt. Clarence Road and Vansittart Road junction with snow piled high in the gutters Clarence Road and Vansittart Road junction in March 2000

Snow removed from the roadsides and

piled up at Barry Avenue by the railway arches Of the 2000 gullies (drains) in Windsor there was concern that only 15 could be found under piled up snow and this would mean that localised flooding would result in the event of a quick thaw, or heavy rain. Efforts were made therefore to find the gullies and ensure that they were kept clear.

Come the 16th there was more snow and the frosts continued such that by Saturday 19th January Gordon Cullingham wrote in his diary "An AWFUL day. Waterworks turbines frozen. ...get electric or other form of heaters - One "Comet" found. Aircraft heaters secured from Pan American Airways, British European Airways and BOAC at Heathrow."

In addition, the power failed at the waterworks (Tangier Island). The river had frozen at Romney Weir, the weather had turned much colder and on the night of January 19th-20th there was a north east gale with blizzards and further snow drifts.

The road salting was becoming ineffective - it requires a certain amount of traffic to 'stir it up' and make it melt the ice and snow. But traffic movements were much reduced, especially at night and over the weekend and anyway the temperatures were so low that even salt water froze.

A view from the Brocas after the river began to freeze, with areas of clear water

where the ducks and swans gathered. The river was now frozen for much of its length at Windsor, with pools of clear water where the ducks and swans gathered. Locals remarked that the ducks were keeping the water clear, but it is also possible that fractionally warmer water from the bottom was rising to the surface and keeping some areas clear.

The swans and ducks were well fed by Windsorians, although the weather remained miserable, with a fine hail and freezing rain falling on the 20th January.

One of the heaters from the airport was installed at the Corporation Depot in Alma Road because the piles of 'grit' (rock salt) were frozen solid into boulders, making it impossible to load and use on the gritting lorries.

Food prices were beginning to be affected. Cox's apples and tomatoes were both 6d per lb (2.5p per 450 grammes), eggs 4s 6d (22.5p) per dozen and potatoes 7d (3p) per lb (450 grammes).

Birds were "ravenous" Gordon Cullingham noted in his diary, and although many residents put out food for them, seemed to be less numerous. There were also ingenious ways of providing them with drinking water (almost more important than food) by placing 'Nitelite' candles under dustbin lids (metal in those days) filled with water. Gordon also noted that "the cold spell is in 5th week, one of three greatest cold spells this century..." and "End of Electricity work to rule, but not end of power cuts."

And still the weather stubbornly remained very cold. From 21st - 25th temperatures were still below freezing and now freezing fog returned which made driving extremely dangerous. In addition diesel fuel froze causing many breakdowns. Water mains burst and on 23rd January a tarpaulin had been slung on the downstream side of Windsor Bridge to protect the 'main' that crossed the river at that point. It was planned to hang similar tarpaulins on the other side and somehow draw them together under the bridge filled with insulation, to prevent the main from freezing in the bitterly cold winds. Tarpaulins hang beneath Windsor Bridge.

Note the frost in the trees as freezing fog returned to add to the problems.

This photo dated 24th January 1963 A reminder of warmer days! A similar view in Summer 1999 It was reported that some 200,000 gallons of water a day were pouring to waste in the Windsor area as a result of leaks and broken mains. The town's daily demand was in the region of 1,700,000 gallons a day and was supplied by the Water Works at Tangier Island. Heaters loaned from Heathrow Airport had already been installed to keep the turbines running as outdoor night-time temperatures were often recorded as low as ­5° Fahrenheit - 36° of frost.

Mains bursts were reported in St Leonard's Road, Clewer Hill Road and Sheepcote Road and leaflets were distributed throughout Windsor advising residents about lagging and insulation as well as to make sure they knew where stop cocks were, and that they worked, in the event of a burst in their own homes.

The greatest alarm was being felt by the Thames Conservancy and the officers of Windsor Borough Council. Geoffrey Baker, Borough Engineer, and George Waldram, Town Clerk, had a flood plan ready. The local Womens Voluntary Service (WVS) was ready with bedding and feeding arrangements for anyone made homeless as a result of flooding. The Adjutant of the Life Guards said that his men would be ready to co-operate if needed.

There was one amusing incident reported in the Windsor Express. Two children aged 5 and 6 were found sitting in a dentists's waiting room each clutching a toothbrush 'ready pasted'. "Please," the children asked, "can we clean our teeth here 'cos we are all frozen up at home and they haven't been done since yesterday!"

Less happily, many injuries were sustained by young and old alike. The Express reported in January that a policeman had slipped and fractured a rib, while an Express reporter had also fallen and fractured his wrist.

When a gas shortage was announced in Wales Gordon wrote: "...gas cuts up to 50%. Sale of equipment stopped. Southern - 12 hours ban on use. Adverts were replaced by appeals for economy. Anti-freeze iced up in car radiator. Walked across old Baths [to Baths Island] on ice - some walked across river at Ferry [to Brocas], 27 accidents on the M1. Pack ice and ice floes around coast." View looking north across the river towards The Brocas.

Small areas of clear water were populated by ducks and swans. The ducks were not amused!

(Closeup from the above picture) Windsorians walk on the frozen Thames.

A view towards Windsor Bridge photographed on 24 January 1963. On 24th January "Continuing very cold, some thaw in extreme west and Scotland. High pressure slipping to S. Stand pipes in use, Birds noisy at lunch time - weather change??"

On 25th January the ice at the Ferry crossing (from the promenade to the Brocas) was measured at 3.5 inches thick but there was a 4" air gap under it due to the lowering of the river.

By the 26th a very slight thaw had started and 1947 records were now checked for possible information about likely flooding, but this time there was very little risk as the previous six months had been very much drier and so a quick thaw would be more readily absorbed by the sub-soil.

But the thaw was a false dawn. By 30th January the cold weather had returned with some snow flurries. Fuel deliveries were unreliable at best, or non-existent at worst with Gordon writing that only two buckets of coke remained for the boiler. Around the Borough water supply pipes into homes were reported as freezing up and by the 1st February the ominous comment in Gordon's diary was "Colder still. 1/2" snow. Still no coke... last bucket."

Little did we know in Windsor that we were barely half way through the coldest winter of the century. Gordon Cullingham enjoying a turn on his son's sledge!

26th January 1963 at Old Windsor The Isis at Oxford which froze earlier than at Windsor February 1963 The end of January saw the return of the cold weather after a brief respite. By Friday 1st February the ominous comment in Gordon's diary had indicated that the really cold weather was returning. Gordon also mentions that frozen water supply pipes were a problem. "7 Hanley Close site... very badly frozen from main." Apparently attempts were being made to thaw pipes by passing low voltage current through them, but not with total success.

On the 3rd February the diary entry reads "Siberian weather. Bad forecast. Car badly affected by salt, rust stains." Indeed any car that had been used regularly on the permanently wet, salty roads, would have suffered badly, the salt having a very corrosive effect.

Old oil heaters had been put back into service - though many were probably past it - often by those who had no idea how to use them safely. The result was many fires were started either when a heater was knocked over, or was refilled whilst alight, or perhaps had been left unattended in a loft in an attempt to defrost frozen plumbing. In any event the fire brigade were kept busy!

Priority in the distribution of coal was given to steam trains carrying supplies of food, coal, oil and petrol. February 5th 1963. Weather Map The weather map for 5th February 1963 showed a deep depression to the south west of the UK.The Air Ministry forecast for much of England, Wales and southern Scotland was for cloud with moderate to heavy falls of snow at times, Rain was only forecast for the West Country, with some sunshine, the rest of the country was in the grip of a cold air flow from Europe. In London the minimum temperature in the previous 24 hours was -3°C with a maximum of 1°C. As this was in the centre of London, temperatures would not have risen above freezing out of town.

The efforts of "meals on wheels" - deliveries of hot meals to the elderly - were much appreciated to say the least and the help also extended to taking buckets of coal to those who had run out. It was clear that many old people were suffering severe hardship as a result of the shortage of fuel. This was at a time when smokeless zones were being introduced despite inadequate supplies of these fuels being available.

Militant union action aggravated the situation with 'work to rule' orders to the staff of power stations. The result was power cuts that closed cinemas and theatres, darkened streets and traffic lights. It became necessary to carry a torch and also to keep matches and candles readily to hand at work or at home.

On February 5th a thaw was forecast in the west, but a blizzard resulted with a very low depression moving up from Madiera. On 7th February the temperatures had warmed up, but only to about freezing and this led to more problems at night as the pavements became 'glazed' with ice from daytime melted snow. These were extremely dangerous conditions for pedestrians.

On February 8th at Vansittart Road Recreation Ground photographs were taken of what seemed to be the long awaited thaw - pictures below - but by 10th February Gordon's diary records yet another frost warning and north easterly winds with more snow at midday. That evening, the BBC broadcast a TV programme about 'The Big Freeze'. February 8th - Vansittart Road Recreation Ground