SNOW IN ENGLAND.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 440, 24 February 1909, Page 11

SNOW IN ENGLAND.

HEAVIEST FOR 28 YEARS. ® - :v : ;" k MANY DEATHS'; t \ The snowstorm of Tuesday, December 29, was the most genera] over tile country and i the" hoaviest experienced ■in England since ' January 18, 1881) almost twenty-eight years ago. •i- ; Tho avcrngo depth afteriit had been snowing in the south of England for over twelve hours up to 8 p.m.-was 3Jin., but overt, at snch favoured ' spots as and Cowos : it was from-6ini' to 14in. deep,>and on, the Brighton frout'it.jwas in places 3ft. :> Who unwonted feature* was the lowness of the temperature.; it never rose above 23deg._ -• in'^London. This made the snow a fine dry powder that penetrated everywhere. . : .The high wind in tho * north: completed •ttie blocking of the railways, and ten trains ■ inj all were embedded ■ near Dunbar, near Montrose, and near Stranraer.- .Minor • blocks occurred near. Newcastle and in Wales. ■- Several passengers/had to pass two nights in tho carriages, t" *■ •Twenty-eight, deaths are Teportcd directly duo to the stonily ■ . ;<■■■,■ .: ■ j ■ ,Two Nlshts In Trains. • ■ Two, London expresses were: among the' trains snowed >up in' Scotland; One pnsoengersaid in-an interview ■■,-: v",On : Monday - nightj-. on the whole, we ■'■-.v: hid a pleasant time, as tho dining-car was attached. . "During -Tuesday food and heat gave out,-: and we wore; famishing when pro- ' visions reached us last evening." • With -tho-utmost difficulty a passage to . the.windows off ono/carriago was made by i :■.-■- a?,(relief party to hand in bread, which-was ! seiml; hungrily. Coffee.was served a littlo later.; .With revived spirits the passengers -rthin-discussed the chances of escape'. The ■ eighteen -males scrambled through; the win- • dows'and trudged) waist-deep, through the C;; 1 ; sri6w?to tlio. , ..village of' Barrhill, where ac- : commodation was found: The;6ight womon ■and: children who remained had to Epend tho . second.night in tho. train. .' They were plentifully supplied with food and-warmth; _\ v •-•■', ;<iA- .passenger in.: another-'.entombed train . told . the following , dramatic storyTho ■ - enqw ,had percolated ; into the ladies' com- : J;pArtment like sgranulated sugar! until it reached - their; knees. To open t the windows wfe- to court , deaths for the''- snow pressed i - on) the compartment on all sides. They-took , tho situation cheerily for the first few hours. i The men in tho next-compartment kept'upi . their spirits by.: singing good-humouredlv i '■Tho stormy. windß'.do blow, and 'Why left I I my hame?', ' -vA'-By-and-by heat: failed, fol- i lowed- 'by '-the ■. "light l /going out.- A I - child in tho , ladies - 1 compartment be-i oame ill. , The ladies . were in: despair, • which;,was increased by the cries of the - __child.. The efforts -of tho men passengers ... tO;freach: them were -futile. ; All became as : silent as tho grave; exccpt for the tapping .. o'n;j.-a partition.!, by men jn the next compartment." ' - v ■ [The ■ railwaymen-..who , first reached them : with brandy, and food had to crawl down arid, scoop an' opcning- to . their window. .■ Then-- their troubles . had- the aspect of a. picnic in the-snow-in comparison io their previous trials. . . - I : j ; Tho Storm in London. The following, arevsome iof tho effects of London:—!,. ' Local authorities'-men: employed ... 9,000/Unemployed igivenwwork ................ 35,000 - Horses and carts engaged ivii.......; 5,000 . Amount paid for temporary-labour... £25,000- . Cost of official labour' ...v....;......... £10,000 \ Total cost i £35,000 ■ ; ! vThis,: of courscj > does, not take into account the, enormous loss- suffered; by tradesmen and the.traffio companies;;' Several of the County Council tramways were disorganised by the salt;mixture.in the;oonduits;y]ftiß]ng of .wires . caused brilliant fireworks beneath the-cars. ■

Fatal Slip In the Snowo,, lT 1 /'i.A deplorable shooting accident occurred reoehtly: at Kearsney, near Dover, as a : con6«4.iienc6:.of the slippeiy. state of .thovsnowoovcred ground. • • ( ■ ••/.Hr. a -tradesman, : and his : -friend, Mr. Browning, were out snooting'in af<Wood. The' information obtained is that ' t, ••■they,separated',Mr. Browning heard : thef.-, report of a,: gunshot,' and thinking his friend had shot- some game went to him. Ho'; found Mr,. ; Gibbs lying ; dead on the ground,ishot in the head. • :; v v ' , hev>had: slipped, onv the snow.' ■ .the gun struck.the ground and went off; t. " In the Track of the storm.

t- . \ / The Tweed waß-frozen. in parts: • The River Thames 'was ,froftn over .at Harlow. - 1 Jin the Lincolnshire fens skating took place. . The'main'roads were sft. deep with snow in tho Orkneys; ' . '-The riverß»OUse, Dee, and Stour were . frozen ; over- in • many '.places.' ' Tobogganing indulged in on tho-Bjiow-clad hills•■round Tiverton. e of Man.it.was.the worst snow- . Btorm experienced, for 14years. • • • • RWR?m fr °i l ? ""H' 'pouncilior Beverley, Sheffield, rolled out of his trap and died from concussion. * . Half a mile' from 'Kirkwall, Orkney, a v;-r" S ««»owdnft; reached to the; height of the. twostory offices of the-Highland Park Distillery/ ■ ■ 'nAn enginemap named John Corby was fqund frozen to death only 60 yards distant irom his house at: Wideopen, near New-caStle-on-Tyne. Tho maibooach from Portaferry, north of Ireland, was, snowbound,the .■ passengers,' mostly ladies, having to sit on tho -vehicle all-night. • - f ... Embedded up to. the . neck in. the snow, ; a young .woman was 'fouijd. at. Coseley. Staffordshire, suffering intensely from cold. in o n°le had been caused by-'a mining subv i?' 10 Mountaineer, which, with an--1 ot ? e L R ar ß®i was , being - towed up tlie ,Mer- , ... ? 6 j,Channel, broko adrift and foundered, her captain,. John Blower,, and his son, Horbort, being drowned, t • 1 v i >,fho ,°ld ox : soldier ..who ihas lived in tile Windsor woods-,for, about twenty years under an ; umbrella was smiling, on , December 30 ..- despite two nights of the 'snow and 'cold; no never makes a fire. . -The Rev. Patrick'Brennan, C.C., Cooks- ;■ town, while cycling ;to his home' from Dungannonj encountered the storm . and was discovered. dead in .the .'road from exhaustion ana exposure. t ''Mater not being available at a fire at a . :: draper ,s at ; Neath, a bystander;, broke the plate glass m 'front' of the Shop and Jiun- . areas of helpers. threw.;snow .upon the flames extinguishing, them. : • ■ _ .' In the City of Aberdeen tho snow-lay over . a foot deep in tho streets, and drifts of six 5 ■ feet . were not uncommon.. The effect was- a 1 ; total st«ppat>o':pf.tramway, and other traffic - Tillages on Deeside and Donsido were completely ■- isolated;- .' Vi v',, .- vAn- engineer, belonging -to the steamboat Tgrn,- of- Ipswich,: lying' at tho, Sandwich Quay,.'slipped. -irito ; the ; . river ,in walldng i :: aboard ■ owing to the icy • surface ,of tho planks. A Koyal Marine named Kirby, of .; Sandwich, dived in and brought him ashore, ; : ;r- 7 : but the;, engineer' died shortly.- afterwards.