In reply to ablackett:
I was only 3 years old during the 1947 snow storm, and don't remember it apart from being very cold. We lived at RAF Mildenhall at the time in a timber bungalow. The pipes froze and we had no heating. I vaguely remember seeing snow banked up against the windows (they would only have been single glazed)
However I do remember the Feb 1978 west country snow storm. We lived in a small Dorset village just off the main Shaftesbury to Blandford road. I remember waking up to an eerie silence, and darkness, and there was a drift of snow up against the wall of our bungalow reaching right up to the eaves and covering the windows and front door. Opening the front door revealed a wall of snow and I spent the morning digging it out.
The snow was generally about 2' to 3' deep up to 15' where it had drifted. The car was buried under a drift completely covering it. The only visible thing was the roof radio aerial sticking up though the snow.
Fortunately we had oil fired central heating so could keep warm. The main road was completely blocked by drifts higher than me and, with neighbours we rescued about a dozen motorists from cars covered by drifts. Villagers with spare accommodation put them up for the next week. The snow was so deep that it was difficult to walk through it, particularly where drifting had occurred. We were trapped for a week before the snow ploughs eventually broke though. People were running low on food and medicines so as I had a pair of touring skis and skins I skied up to Shaftesbury, the nearest town to get some provisions. It was actually good fun!
I remember the general uncanny silence, due to a complete lack of traffic anywhere punctuated by the occasional helicopter from the Army at Middle Wallop who were flying evacuation trips for people requiring hospital treatment. This included a pregnant girl in our village who went into labour.
Eventually, after a week, the snow ploughs reached us and the main road was cleared. Their biggest problem had been abandoned cars which were impossible to spot being totally covered by drifted snow.
It was an interesting experience.