Winter's Icy Grip

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22332, 1 February 1936, Page 15 (Supplement)

Winter's Icy Grip

Britain just prior to Christmas was the centre of a cold area which spread as far afield as France and Holland, and hopes of a " white" Christmas soared high when real Yuletide snow fell in thick flakes in London, parts of the Midlands, and most of the north. These hopes, however, were dashed, as a thaw subsequently set in. Accidents and traffic delays were numerous. A blizzard in Staffordshire caused an aeroplane crash at Meir aerodrome near Stoke-on-Trent, in which a woman pilot and her passenger were injured. The pilot was Miss Dorothy Clive, daughter of Colonel Harry Clive, of Pipe Gate, Staffordshire. She received cuts on the face and shock. Her passenger, a cousin, Mr. Roger David Clivo, was taken to hospital with a fracture of one leg and head injuries. While Miss Clive was attempting to land at the aerodrome the aeroplane struck a tree. Parts of the machine were scattered over surrounding fields. Miss Clive jumped clear and was trying to release her cousin from the cockpit when assistance arrived. Misß Clive

obtained her "A" certificate, which entitles her to take up a passenger in July and was regarded as one of the ablest pilots in the club. London Traffic Delays Frost caused a big hold-up to London traffic. It was the worst "skating rink" surface since the famous "silver thaw" of 1927, when London hospitals treated over 1000 accident cases. On the railways trains were delayed at several points, and it was not until 7.30 a.m.—over an hour late —that the first train reached Baker Street station. On the roads early buses were slowed down almost to walking pace and on some routes were stopped altogether. Several mishaps occurred through skids. Racing at Derby was cancelled owing to snow. There was another snow mishap at Birmingham, where a corporation omnibus overturned. There were 18 passengers, but only on©—Robert Perry, ageid 17, was seriously injured. He suffered a broken leg. Blizzards were experienced all along the Pennine Chain, and snow lay to a depth of a'foot or more on many mountain-sides in Wales. Snowdon range was several inches deep in snow, ad roadmen employed by the Carnar-

vonshire County Council near Capel Curig were notified that work was suspended. Aeroplane Loses Its Way The thrilling experience of an air pilot and his four passengers was described when a Liverpool-Blackpool Isle of Man machine landed at Ronaldsway aerodrome, Isle of Man, after having been " lost " in the blizzard. The pilot was Captain Armstrong, of the Blackpool and West Coast Air Services. He said: "I left Liverpool with four passengers, two men and two women, and shortly after we ran into a blizzard which completely blinded me. "Although I kept in touch with Manchester by wireless I could not locate the Isle of Man at all because of the sleet. I tried to get out of the blizzard, and eventually found the Scottish coast and Stranraer, where we came down. Weather reports were so had that I decided to stay the night." . There was great anxiety at Ronaldsway concerning the whereabouts of the machine. Winter sports were in full swing in north Derbyshire. The steep slopes of Kinderscout, 2000 ft. above sea level, provided excellent ski-ing, and there was skating on frozen ponds around Matlock. Elsewhere the snow which had covered large areas of Lincolnshire, Norfolk and Suffolk was mostly dispelled by rain and drizzle, which was accompanied in parts of the East Midlands by thick fog. The cause of the traffio hold-up in and abput London was the previous

AEROPLANES IN BLIZZARD

night's rain, which froze on pavements, roads and railway tracks for a wide radius round the metropolis, forming a hard, thin coating of ice. Roads were almost impassable, and many early bus servioas had to bo cancelled. Muswell Hill was one of the worst districts. Here the first bus, which should have left the garage by 4.30 a.m., did not leave until 7.15. Afterwards buses " hugged " the pavement, creeping along by the kerbside. Another bad stretch was at Barkingside. Here again the first bus was unable to leave until 7.15, Buses at Whetstone and Watford were held up, and right up to ten o'clock, when a general thaw had Bet in, buses on almost all outer London routes had to crawl along the kerbs. For motorists the journey to the City from any direction was nerve-racking, for it was impossible to avoid skidding. There was a crop of accidents, but fortunately few were serious. A London transport coach descending Windmill Hill, at Enfield, skidded on the ice on a slight bend at the bottom and crashed into some railings, smashing a

disused tram standard. The coach caught the impact full on the radiator, but the driver escaped unhurt. There were no passengers on board. Motor Skids on Hill Four people were injured when a motor-car descending Borstall Hill, Plumstead, skidded, and ran into a grass bank. They were Reginald Ernest King, aged 23; Margaret Smith, aged 23; Edward Naylor, aged 27; and Margaret Naylor, aged 23, all of Deptford. They were taken to St. Nicholas Hospital, Plumstead. Christopher Goodheart, aged 18, of Inkpen, Berkshire, a passenger in his brother's car, was killed when th© car skidded on the icebound Bath Road at Woolhampton, near Reading, and crashed into a telegraph pole. Five vehicles were involved in an amazing mix-up on the Great Cambridge Road, Edmonton, where the surface had been transformed into a Bheet of ice; but apart from a severe shaking and minor abrasions, no one was hurt. In a collision between two cars following a skid at North Hill, Higbgate, all four occupants were injured, and Miss Vera Woldman, aged 18, of Golders Green, was detained in hospery.

I Breakdown lorries had to be called to assist cars which had got into difficulties on the Brighton Road and on other arterial roads in the Home Counties. The London-Southend road and roads in Essex were particularly slippery.. Ice Outs Off Current On the railways the chief cause of the trouble was ice on the conductor rails cutting off the current. Services to Baker Street were chaotic. The holdup made it necessary to cancel or alter some of the trains, and many passengers were delayed over an hour. Right up to ten o'clock there was still a delay of 25 minutes . Trains were packed to the doors, and at some stations crowds were so great that many passengers had to wait a long time for a train with any room in it. Watford was one of the worst districts. On the Bakerloo line there were no trains between Watford Junction and Watford High Street until 8.45 a.m. The first train should have left Watford at 5.30. The line is used jointly by the Bakerloo and the L.M.S. electrio services. Another line badly affected was the Piccadilly—from Cockfosters to Uxbridge. Trains from Cockfosters were half an hour late, and there were slightly smaller delays on the "above ground " section at the Uxbridge end. The Sduthern Railway, with all its electrio services, however, reported delays of " not more than a minute or two," and no seriouß hold-up on any section. _ Snow, blocking points on the L.M.S. line between Manchester and Warrington, caused the derailment of three goods waggons at Wildersfoot, near Warrington. Several passenger trains for Manchester were held up. The line was cleared several hours later.