Those were the days: January 1947: The most severe winter in modern history

As Britain contemplated a blast of Arctic winds bringing flurries of snow, we recall this time 70 years ago when the country experienced one of the most severe winters in modern history. Between January and March that year, snow fell every day somewhere in the country for 55 days straight and it was so cold that it remained on the ground for much longer than that.

The after effects of war and rationing made the winter of 1947 tough. As coal stocks dwindled, power cuts were ordered by the government and there were fears that Sheffield’s heavy industry could grind to a halt, leading to lay-offs and families struggling with no money coming in. 
The picture of buses stranded in the Peak District was sent to The Star by a reader who believed it had been taken by his father, Tony Palmer, as a young man.