The Big Snow of '47

Channel 5

7:40 PM to 9:15 PM

Saturday 7 December

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Houses buried under snow, rivers frozen solid, bombers called upon to drop bread to isolated villages. How did Brits survive the snowiest winter ever recorded? Less than two years after the Second World War ended, with food strictly rationed and most homes without central heating, the nation shivered for seven long weeks in a Siberian climate. Huge snow drifts and plunging temperatures of -21C caused frozen railways, factory shutdowns, power cuts and a farming crisis. Famous faces including John Craven, Amanda Barrie, Timothy West and Neil Kinnock share childhood memories of the extreme winter and explain why it remains unparalleled