 Dr Fred Dibnah, MBE, steeplejack and television presenter, was born on April 28, 1938. He passed away after a long illness on November 6, 2004, aged 66.
Following his career in television Fred became a high profile media personality and the fame which accompanied that status never affected him, or in any way changed his down to earth demeanour. He will be remembered not only for his many practical achievements, but also for encouraging thousands of others to care about our industrial heritage. That people from all walks of life have appreciated
his efforts is without doubt and he enriched many lives through his work which, in fact, he always looked on, not as a chore but as a pleasure.
 At home with Fred Dibnah
In order to set the scene Fred was interviewed during a series of visits to his Bolton home. 'At home with Fred Dibnah' proved to be one of the most popular items ever carried by the aforementioned magazine and was something Fred himself said he enjoyed reading. With Fred Dibnah what you saw was very definitely what you got. The steam bug infected Fred at a very early age possibly following his illicit visits to his father's place of work, a bleach factory. Encouraged by one of his ex teachers Fred started what he described as 'a steeplejack business'. He amusingly tells how he was called on to serve 'crown & country' for a couple of years and therefore told tales of his time spent in Germany.
Much to Fred's delight a visit to Bolton Parish Church, whilst looking for work, resulted in an encounter with a gun totting Canon. Fred recalled that together they set off to liberate a pistol from his mother's bureau so that the vicar and he could go target shooting together. He describes the superb rebuild of his Aveling & Porter steam tractor as 'the passion of a lifetime' a meticulous job he took 27 years to complete. Regretfully the demonstration mine shaft at his former home remains unfinished, but it was a project very close to his heart. Looking back, even briefly, over the life of Fred Dibnah it is fair to assume that he would have made a success of whatever business, or way of life, he had chosen.
Fred the TV presenter.
David Hall is the head of a Leeds based TV production company 'The View From The North' and not only did he work closely with Fred on the making of many television programmes the two men became and remained, close friends. Filming for the latest series of films for BBC2 entitled 'Made in Britain' was only completed the month before Fred died. Fred Dibnah was first seen on our screens in 1979 and he has been there ever since thanks initially to a series of television documentaries about his career as a steeplejack and then further programmes highlighting his hobby as a restorer of steam engines. Having served his screen apprenticeship fully he effortlessly made the transition from being the documentary subject to being a superb documentary presenter.
Fred was a man born out of his own time. He always said he should have lived in the Victorian Age and his heroes were the great engineers of that time. Growing up as a youth in the 1940's in Bolton, Lancashire, he fell in love with the decaying industrial landscape around him and he developed the interests that were to stay with him for the rest of his life — steeplejacking and steam engines.
When he turned to presenting his own programmes his blunt, no nonsense style made a welcome change from the so called television professionals. His genius lay in being able to communicate with the audience in simple, direct, colloquial English. The audience not only enjoyed watching Fred, they trusted him, because he was one of them. Fame and personality never spoiled him. Wherever he went he always found time to chat to anybody who cared to listen to one of his stories, to sign an autograph or pose for a photo that will now, forever, have pride of place in many a family album.
Made in Britain
 The idea for the TV series stemmed from Fred's desire to visit as many parts of Great Britain as possible using his newly restored steam tractor. The journey started with a trip to an open cast mine near Wigan, in order to collect coal, and then after a visit to the Astley Mining Museum he travelled north to the Lake District. After a trip on a steam boat Fred and his travelling companions visited Florence Mine, in the West Cumbria, situated in what was once a heavily worked iron ore field before travelling on to cross the border into Scotland.
The Forth Bridge, Falkirk Wheel and the Bo'ness & Kinneil Railway attracted the film crews attention whilst 'over the border', with the journey back to England then being undertaken via the North East and the famous Middlesborough Transporter Bridge. The steel city of Sheffield was visited thereafter and the industrial history of that region examined.
Railways played a huge part in the nation's industrial development and three preserved steam centres were visited by Fred, The Midland Railway Centre, the Great Central Railway and the Severn Valley Railway were all highlighted. A day out with the steam enthusiast members of the North Staffs & Cheshire Traction Engine Club was featured during the filming, and that followed a visit to the Black Country Museum.
Fred visited North Wales and travelled via the Llanberis Pass aboard the engine in order to drop in at the Welsh Slate Museum where he tried his hand at the art of slate splitting. The Ffestiniog Railway originally existed because of the slate industry and so a ride on one of their 'Little Trains of Wales' was filmed. Copper ore was once mined in vast quantities within the Principality and to examine the history of that trade Fred and the crew visited Parys Mountain in Angelsey.
The boat lift at Anderton in Cheshire, which connects the Trent & Mersey Canal with the Weaver Navigation and which was once referred to as "the cathedral of the canals", formed the backdrop to a further days filming prior to Fred visiting several engineering facilities in Greater Manchester.
The highlight of Fred's journey was undoubtedly his trip to London. Whilst in the capital to receive his well deserved MBE, from HM Queen Elizabeth II, Fred undertook a trip around the city of Westminster aboard the steamer, in addition he visited the restored Victorian Pumping Station at Crossness.
The plans for filming 'Made in Britain' included trips to the West Country, South Wales and the Forest of Dean but unfortunately Fred's rapidly deteriorating health prohibited those plans being carried out. Whilst fighting cancer Fred's achievement in completing the huge amount of filming which he did, during the spring and summer of 2004, was nothing short of miraculous. His braveness in the circumstances was inspiring and as such was a credit to his strength of character and can be taken as a source of inspiration to us all.
Chimney demolition
Fred would far sooner have rebuilt chimneys than demolish them but he was a realist and accordingly he knew that many of these fine structures would have to
be destroyed. His method was, in his eyes, environmentally safe as he used no explosives whatsoever and literally signalled the end of a chimney with nothing more complicated than a match.
The `downings' were by their very nature dramatic affairs and those persons lucky enough to have witnessed one will forever treasure the memory. In May 2004 Fred demolished what unfortunately turned out to be his last chimney, a job which went like clockwork but that was not always the case. Fred's special method is described in great detail and several of Fred's helpers have given their accounts of chimneys which they saw toppled, some with a different outcome than that which Fred had planned!
Fred's life and times.
Fred once made a beer commercial for TV and also by accident just about ruined
a Rose Fete, a stately homes best carpet and then crashed his classic steam roller at the Last Drop Village. These are just four of a selection of fascinating stories recounted in `Fred Dibnah Remembered'. The many amusing tales are illustrated by a collection of exclusive photographs and specially drawn cartoons.
An account of the trip around London, the story of Fred's favourite steam engine and the tale of the friend who had the distinction of being banned from visiting with him by all three of his wives are included, as are the first hand accounts of several people who worked with him. The attendance of literally thousands at the `Victorian Funeral', which Fred chose and planned for himself, serves as a reminder of how highly thought of he was in his home town of Bolton. The record viewing figures enjoyed by his many TV programmes bear testament to his nation wide popularity.
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Following Fred's untimely death, Keith embarked upon the creation of a book, drawing not only on his experiences with the Bolton born steeplejack and TV presenter, but in addition talking to a representative cross section of those persons who numbered themselves amongst Fred's many friends. The cumulative result of which is a 132 page special publication with over 150 unique pictures, many of which have been loaned especially for use in the book by the Dibnah family and others. The publication commemorates the life and times of Fred, who many have rightly described as having been a truly `Great Briton'.