Fred Dibnah, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death

    

Fred Dibnah

English steeplejack and television personality, with a keen interest in mechanical engineering

Date of Birth: 28-Apr-1938

Place of Birth: Bolton, England, United Kingdom

Date of Death: 06-Nov-2004

Profession: engineer, joiner, television presenter, steeplejack

Nationality: United Kingdom

Zodiac Sign: Taurus


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About Fred Dibnah

  • Frederick Dibnah, (28 April 1938 – 6 November 2004) was an English steeplejack and television personality, with a keen interest in mechanical engineering. When Dibnah was born, Britain relied heavily upon coal to fuel its industry.
  • As a child he was fascinated by the steam engines which powered the many textile mills in Bolton, but he paid particular attention to chimneys and the men who worked on them.
  • He began his working life as a joiner, before becoming a steeplejack.
  • From age 22, he served for two years in the Army Catering Corps of the British Army, undertaking his National Service.
  • Once demobilised, he returned to steeplejacking but met with limited success until he was asked to repair Bolton's parish church.
  • The resulting publicity provided a welcome boost to his business, ensuring he was almost never out of work. In 1978, while making repairs to Bolton Town Hall, Dibnah was filmed by a regional BBC news crew.
  • The BBC then commissioned an award-winning documentary, which followed the rough-hewn steeplejack as he worked on chimneys, interacted with his family and talked about his favourite hobby—steam.
  • His Lancastrian manner and gentle, self-taught philosophical outlook proved popular with viewers and he featured in a number of television programmes.
  • Toward the end of his life, the decline of Britain's industry was mirrored by a decline in his steeplejacking business and Dibnah increasingly came to rely on public appearances and after-dinner speaking to support his income.
  • In 1998, he presented a programme on Britain's industrial history and went on to present a number of series, largely concerned with the Industrial Revolution and its mechanical and architectural legacy. He died from bladder cancer in November 2004, aged 66.
  • He is survived by his five children from his first two marriages.

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