Fred: The Definitive Biography Of Fred Dibnah

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Our current partner charities in the UK are READ International, the National Literacy Trust, Room to Read. Great British media characters emerged from the industrial poverty of the North West of England in the 1950's and 60's - Eric Sykes, Bernard Cribbins, Hilda Baker, Peter Kay. This behind-the-scenes account of that ambitious journey is made all the more remarkable by Fred’s heroic efforts to complete it while suffering from terminal cancer.

uk is a trading name of Mortons Media Group Ltd | Registered Office: Media Centre, Morton Way, Horncastle. With his trademark flat cap, enthusiasm and knowledge of the country’s steam past, his gift for storytelling, and his cry of ‘Did you like that? By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. 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. He was a most brilliant, natural speaker, and especially gifted in being able to ‘paint a picture’ in his distinctive Boltonian accent”.Fred Dibnah won the hearts of millions of viewers with his television programmes about his life as a steeplejack, and his passion for the industrial history of Britain.

This is a nice book to own if you were a fan of Fred’s or simply interested in entertaining stories about his exploits. But to just place an explosive charge in the chimney’s base and blow them down when they came to the end of their lives, did not appeal to Fred for to him there was another more traditional way of felling these chimneys that embodied respect for the old time chimney builders and would demolish them with great aplomb and not a little drama”. We discover all the different sides of Fred’s personality – engineer, steeplejack, artist, craftsman, steam enthusiast, inventor, storyteller and eccentric.

Keith counts himself fortunate to have known Fred Dibnah personally and to have observed the 'great man' first hand as he went about his fascinating work. 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). Fred Dibnah MBE, born in Bolton, was a famous steeplejack and engineer, aswell as TV personality and steam enthusiast. He will be remembered not only for his many practical achievements, but also for encouraging thousands of others to care about our industrial heritage. The biographer of Fred Dibnah, he was also Fred's TV producer for many years, as well as a close personal friend, and has published a number of books celebrating Fred's life and interests.

His latest work includes a documentary on Fred's garden and Founders of the Great Dynasties for History Channel International. as another giant chimney slid to earth behind him, he quickly became a genuine favourite with viewers. After he retired from steeplejacking he took to the road, looking at the achievements of the craftsmen, engineers, inventors and industrial workers whose endeavour made engines like his possible. 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 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.Alan McEwen’s writing style and respect for accurate documentation serve to make a very interesting book even more interesting. 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. Lancastrian Fred Dibnah was born in 1938 into an England which in his view has been going downhill ever since.