page_title: Fred Dibnah
section_title: Fred Dibnah's Made in Britain
hierarchical_section_title: Fred Dibnah / Last years / Fred Dibnah's Made in Britain
caption_attribution_description: English: Fred Dibnah visits the Great Central Railway works at Loughborough, as part of his final televised tour of Britain's industrial heritage.
context_page_description: Frederick Dibnah, MBE 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.
context_section_description: Despite Dibnah's best efforts, planning permission was refused.  Although he appealed against the decision, a new series diverted his attention.  At the end of 2003 production began for Fred Dibnah's Made in Britain. With his friend, Alf Molyneux, Dibnah would tour the country on his completed traction engine, visiting the workshops that still could produce the parts needed for his antique vehicle.  His engine, however, was not yet complete and Dibnah's medical diagnosis was not good: he knew he had only a short time to live.  His traction engine developed a serious fault, but with the help of friends it was quickly repaired and its restoration completed.
  In December 2003, his traction engine was now in working order and planning for the new series commenced.  Dibnah's illness necessitated that he sleep in hotels, rather than the living van the engine would tow during the trip.  For the long distances between locations, the engine would be transported on the back of a low loader.  Dibnah's engine suffered early mechanical problems; it could barely tow the fully loaded living van uphill, as the cylinder had been placed very slightly closer to the footplate than it should have been. As a result of this, every time the piston was fully forward it covered the steam inlet port.  The engine was repaired, and with some minor engineering work to one of the pistons was brought up to full power.  The team was joined by Dibnah's sons, Jack and Roger.
  The production crew made every effort to reduce Dibnah's workload.  Changes were made to the filming schedule, to allow Dibnah more time to rest at home between filming days.  The crew visited the Forth Road Bridge and Dibnah became the first man to drive a traction engine under its own steam across the bridge.  Such pleasures provided a welcome distraction for Dibnah, who was by then ill and in pain.  By the end of June he was so ill he could not continue filming.  He was sent home to rest and given medication to alleviate his condition, so that he could collect his MBE.
  Filming continued at various locations around the country, with sons Jack and Roger, who had become essential members of the tour, providing much-needed support for their father.  By the end of July, the crew had filmed only 34 days with Dibnah, out of a planned 60.  It was becoming more difficult by the day for Dibnah to fulfil his filming duties and the crew decided to cut short the schedule.  Once home, Dibnah decided to creosote the pithead gear in his garden but fell and injured his back.  He was adamant that he would continue filming, however, and made the trip to North Wales to complete filming.  He later made a partial recovery and completed his last day's filming at an Ironworks in Atherton.
caption: Dibnah visiting the Great Central Railway works at Loughborough, as part of his final televised tour of Britain's industrial heritage
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