One evening during 1976, we sat down and watched a sprightly chap with a flat cap climb a massive chimney on a television programme,this was a pilot programme on people who had very unusual and dangerous jobs,little did we realise that he would become one of the countrys most loved and dynamic characters,above all educating the public about steeplejacks,steam engines and our industrial heritage,somehow he just had an uncanny knack of explaining things,the passion and enthusiasm for his subjects were infectious.The scaffolding around the chimneys that he was dismantling was called a 'Sputnik' something that Fred had designed and developed to assist him moving down the chimneys as he dismantled them brick,by brick,throwing not only the bricks down the centre but his many cigarette ends as well ! As the years went on,the television people realised that they had someone very special on their hands,someone who could convey to the public the dangers of a steeplejack in such an entertaining way,Fred was just ideal and the letters started to pour in asking to see more.
Deep in the outskirts of Bolton was a most unusual back yard,you could easily spot it by the steam coming through the trees ! it was Freds steam plant operated machinery all fed from rubber belting to his various tools,anyone who visited him said it was like stepping back into a time warp,you see he was born just that bit too late and despite his love of machinery,wood working etc his heart lay with steam engines,to this end he purchased a road roller with which he taught himself to drive a steam vehicle,then he had the chance to buy a traction engine from a farmer,this was discovered in an old barn some miles away,he patched it up and steamed it all the way home to his garden workshop,that engine was to take him 27 years to rebuild,cost him two lovely wives in the process and probably shorten his life in the process.But he slogged on in between doing increasing public appearances all over the country and finally finished that engine.
Never content to do just one thing he continued to make lovely weather-vanes from scrap materials,he repaired many a church roof for a few quid and made many friends along the way,then came along the replica pit-head in his garden,assisted by some friends who had worked in the harsh mining industry they used the very same principles in his miniature mine shaft as their full sized counterpart,much to the consternation of his neighbours.
So just what was it about this chap called Fred Dibnah who entertained people so well with his jovial nature ? well he called a spade,a spade put on no hairs and graces for anyone,and above all endeared himself to the nation not only with his seemingly endless daring exploits up and down chimneys,but his sheer down to earth approach to life in general.
Some fascinating catch phrases have been coined by Fred,his 'D Ya like that !' has become household phraseology,his 'half a day at the undertakers' for toppling off a chimney,and that cheeky little horn that he used for warning that a chimney had been felled,whilst the big boys as he called them,blew up our past,Fred did it the hard way,but it was his precision at felling chimneys with only feet to spare either side that intrigued people and gave him endless work,his technique was to remove some lower bricks at the base of the chimney,place numerous wooden props into place,then set alight this with old tyres etc,this would then weaken the structure as it burned,and then the chimney would ( and did ) topple exactly where he wanted it to.
His final series 'Made in Britain' will stand as a lasting monument in itself to the life and work of Dr Fred Dibnah MBE,there will never be anyone quite like him ever again,he was not only unique but the last bastion of the iron age living today,during his life he gave us all a chance to peep into the distant and hardy past,he did it with great skill,understanding and entertainment.
***My picture above is dedicated in his name,and will be placed in a corner of my own workshop to remember a truly great personality and engineer.