Fred: The Definitive Biography Of Fred Dibnah

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As well as the good times and the not so good times there are also so brilliant, laugh to loud moments too, particularly when he relates some of the scrapes he got into.

Finance is provided by PayPal Credit (a trading name of PayPal UK Ltd, Whittaker House, Whittaker Avenue, Richmond-Upon-Thames, Surrey, United Kingdom, TW9 1EH). This is a weighty tome – and is not at the budget end of the market – but it is Christmas and if you’re a Fred fan or an enthusiast for our industrial heritage then this book really should be on your wants list. As one of the famous Bolton steeplejack’s oldest friend, Alan McEwen has a unique view of the life and work of the late Fred Dibnah, illustrated by many of Alan’s own photographs. The demise of this once prominent industry (in the nineteenth century the boast of Lancashire’s millowners was: ‘England’s bread was won by Lancashire’s thread’), was excellent at first for the young Fred Dibnah whose ambition and most fervent desire was to become established as a steeplejack. DAVID HALL, once a journalist and teacher, has been producer for over 25years, making programmes for the BBC, ITV Network, Channel 4 and other broadcasters around the world.

It covers most of the later tv series he made and gives enough depth into his life, not to go into the technical details of steam engines, but enough to make good reading. On the 6th November 2004, Fred died after bravely battling with bladder cancer since autumn of 2001. Read our Privacy Policy to give you more detailed information about your rights and how we use your data. Lancastrian Fred Dibnah was born in 1938 into an England which in his view has been going downhill ever since.

Fred clearly loved all aspects of British industry and was fascinated by the numerous ancient coal pits with their distinctive headgear that he saw when taking a regular walk along the towpath of the Manchester, Bury and Bolton Canal. He held these towering structures with great affection and he often related stories about the ‘hard men’, the chimney builders who erected them and of the men also, who maintained and repaired them: the steeplejacks. The Age of the Carpenter' sees Fred learn all about the way that carpenters have used their skills to transform medieval castles into homes. Keith Langston has captured the life of an enthusiast , never happier than when working on his latest steam-powered project. His deep-seated knowledge of chimney construction and of steeplejacking lore, his charismatic and competent showmanship rapidly made him nationally famous: particularly following those memorable early BBC television programmes.The text covers 28 different ‘chimneys’, all but about 5 of which stood within a 12 mile radius of Fred’s own home, indeed a handful were within walking distance.

Cheshire based Keith Langston is a widely published and highly respected photo journalist specialising in railway and other transport related subjects.Fred Dibnah’s procedure for carrying out a chimney felling was the result of a well considered demolition plan, based on traditional Victorian practice known in steeplejacking parlance as ‘gobbing out and pit-propping’. In this book he shares his experiences as a steeplejack, his love of machinery of all types, and his forthright views on life in general. You'd have to be a Fred Dibnah fan to truly enjoy this book - if you're not, I'd probably give it a miss. Fred had the uncanny and somewhat unique knack of talking through a TV camera so that the viewer actually felt a personal contact with him. Printed on quality art paper, this brings out the best in the photographs of preparations such as the pit propping and ‘gobbin out’ procedures utilised by the master.

This really is THE book to have if you want to discover the truth behind the legend that was and remains, Fred Dibnah. A lifelong Manchester United fan, one of his books chronicles life in Manchester in the aftermath of the deaths of the Busby Babes in the Munich air disaster. Even as a young lad, Fred was considered by his family and also his contemporaries as being a little odd, rather eccentric, for the young Boltonian eschewed the normal football and similar sports-related pastimes in favour of the world of steam engines, boilers and in particular the numerous cotton mill and factory chimneys that were as ubiquitous as blades of grass.Alan McEwen’s writing style and respect for accurate documentation serve to make a very interesting book even more interesting.