Fred: The Definitive Biography Of Fred Dibnah

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Fred’s untimely death meant the BBC series would be his last, and Keith decided it was time to record in writing his shared experiences with the Bolton-born steeplejack. Cheshire based Keith Langston is a widely published and highly respected photo journalist specialising in railway and other transport related subjects.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average.Keith Langston has captured the life of an enthusiast , never happier than when working on his latest steam-powered project. 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 was a most brilliant, natural speaker, and especially gifted in being able to ‘paint a picture’ in his distinctive Boltonian accent. 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. His interest and vast knowledge of all things railway stem from being brought up in the North West of England as part of a railway family.

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”. Dedicated to the memory of Fred Dubnah, it charts the progress of Fred Dibnah’s chimney drops from 1970 to 2004, interspersed with valuable old photographs, personal memories of the man himself, quips and some tall tales. He brings the text alive with anecdotes and quotations aplenty but his writing is so eloquent he brings the day itself alive. 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. On the 6th November 2004, Fred died after bravely battling with bladder cancer since autumn of 2001.Travelling the length and breadth of the country, the intention was to seek out the remarkable achievements of the craftsmen, engineers, inventors and industrial workers whose endeavour made engines like Fred's possible. Cheshire based KEITH LANGSTON is a widely published and highly respected photo journalist who specialises in heritage transportation and industrial archaeology subjects.