Dear Editor

Memories of the Winter of 1947

Ron Watt’s memories of 1947 brought back my own. I am a few years younger than him, but remember the year well. I also took the opportunity to check on some of the statistics for the year, which are astounding. I hope Ron will not object to me climbing on his shoulders and adding to his memories.

I was living in Bedford during that year and I remember well going with my mother to the local gasworks and joining the long, long (but so well-behaved!) queues to fill our pram with coke – the only fuel we could get for our house fires and the cooking range and the scullery copper.

The summer was so hot, that when my Dad won