Winter bites hard throughout the UK
The winter of 1962-63 was one of the coldest on record with snow carpeting the country
Rivers, lakes and even the sea froze and temperatures fell to almost minus 20 in parts of the north of Scotland.
Cold weather reached Britain just before Christmas 1962 and maintained its icy grip until the following March.
Stirling was hit by a blizzard in early February 1963 and the Observer told how the Stirling-Perth road, just north of Dunblane, was blocked for two days leaving hundreds of motorists and lorry drivers stuck.
At Gateside Farm, Glassingall, Mrs Nicol McLaren and her son John ran an all-night `Good Samaritan’ service for the stranded drivers. Many were returning from the bull sales in Perth.
Mrs McLaren struggled through knee-deep drifts to reach the 150 lorries and cars stuck near the farm. She accommodated six weary travellers in her home and allowed others to spend the cold night in the farm’s byre.
Another whose drive was halted by the snow at Dunblane was Superintendent Thomas Sorley, Stirling and Clackmannanshire
Police Force, who was on his way back from Inverness where he was appointed chief constable. Survivng on chocolate, Mr Sorley and his wife spent the night in their car before resuming their journey.
Long distance lorry driver Frank King from Derby, had a narrow escape battling snow on the Greenloaning road, north of Dunblane. He had halted his transporter after his load, 10 tons of jute, shifted because of a rut on the road caused by the snow. He was trapped in the cab for a short time but escaped with bruising.
Elsewhere, about 100 visitors to Killearn Hospital were given beds there when they were stranded by the snow while a party of 50 bus passengers had to walk half a mile to the hospital when their Glasgowbound bus hit a snow drift.
A coach party of WRI members from Arnprior and Kippen district, returning from a Glasgow theatre outing, became stuck about half a mile from Killearn. However, the driver managed to find an alternative route, via Buchlyvie, which got the 36 women and four men home by 1am.
The Balfron branch of the Women’s Voluntary Services battled eightfoot drifts to deliver `piping-hot’ midday meals to the town’s elderly.
The Observer said: `The ladies were determined not to let the elderly folk down. Two male members of the district council helped drive the van and at one point the ladies brought skis into operation to ensure delivery.’
• Do you have memories of the big freeze of 1962-63. If you have any photos or storiesw, let us know at news@stirlingobserver.co.uk.