It was snow joke in the bitter winters of yesteryear

In January 1940, a chill fog encircled Fleetwood. On January 27, a great snow and ice storm swept across the country, and lasted for four days.

Due to press regulations issued by the Government, nothing was reported by any news organisations. The reporting of severe weather was censored in the national interest – to ensure no British weakness could be exposed during the Second World War. Fleetwood’s trams ground to a halt, left frozen in place on Lord Street. The water around the port was frozen and the railways blocked. Our photograph from January 1940, taken from the top of The Mount shows how heavy the snow was. The Promenade road was completely covered.

Another striking image here was captured in Fleetwood, by our photographer Bill Johnson in 2010 – showing snow-covered mountains in The Lakes.