Gallery: Incredible archive photos show West Midlands people dealing with cold winters of the past

Think it’s been cold in the last week?

One way to travel... three-year-old Dawn Patten, of Webster Road, Walsall, enjoys playing in the snow which carpeted the streets 20/01/79

The freezing temperatures we’ve experienced have been something of a shock after a hot summer and mild autumn.

But it is normal to be in the deep freeze and the West Midlands always gets its fair share of snow.

We took a look back through the Express & Star archives to reveal how generations of people in the region have battled through the snow – and often had a lot of fun along the way.

Of course, snow can be a real difficulty when you have somewhere to be, and there have been many examples of main routes – even the M6, M5 and M54 – blocked and motorists stuck for many hours at a time.

But inclement weather also brings the best out of people and, given access to a shovel, there is plenty of willingness to get stuck in to clear the way. After all, life must go on, even if the white stuff has brought a little chaos along the way.

You can flick through the gallery below.

nostalgia pic. Claverley. (must be not far from Claverley, exact location not given). Snow scene from the March 1947 blizzards. Unnamed boy clearing a road on the way from Wolverhampton to Claverley. first published 15/3/1947, used for Images of the 20th century 30/1/2001. Copyright Express & Star. Claverley snow scene. Claverley winter scene, Snowdrift. Snowdrifts. Wintry weather. The bus or coach has children on the roof and Beckbury on the destination board. Library code: Claverley nostalgia 2021..

All together, heave...A combined effort to get a car unstuck in Claremont Road, Sedgley 11/01/82

The arctic scene on the main Wolverhampton to Stafford road at Fordhouses as one shopper struggles through with a barrow loaded with shopping 09.02.85

West Midland PTE buses and works buses were caught out in the snow drifts on the bank in Bull Meadow Lane, Wombourne 08.01.82

Skiing enthusiast Linda McLaughlin, from Cannock, was delighted by the snow when she arrived for work in Wolverhampton 26.01.83

Postman Gilbert Guest beat the bad weather to make sure the mail got through - and then found his car trapped in the snow. He had to dif out his car after an early morning shift at Dudley sorting office. He had driven to work from his home in Kingsley Road, Kingswinford, and found his car buried when he finished 11.01.82

A snow plough goes into action in Warstones, Wolverhampton 10.03.65

Shopkeepers and assistants were out early clearing the drifts in Dudley-street, Wolverhampton 04.03.65

Wolverhampton's treacherous carpet of snow is posing plenty of problems for motorists and pedestrians - as this bird's eye view of the ring road shows, taken from the top floor of Wolverhampton Polytechnic's Faculty of Art building - shows the scene at the Stafford Street junction of the ring road.