Fred Dibnah’s widow is hosting a memorial night in Blackburn on April 21 to raise funds for a statue of the late lamented steeplejack and TV celebrity. We found out why. Read the rest of this entry »
Blue plaque tribute to popular Fred
On March - 22 - 2006 ADD COMMENTS
THE name of Bolton’s famous son Fred Dibnah will live on on a commemorative blue plaque erected on the wall of his house.
Family, friends and Fred’s fans gathered outside his home in Radcliffe Road, The Haulgh, to watch the blue plaque detailing his life and times unveiled by the Mayor of Bolton, Cllr Frank White. Read the rest of this entry »
Plaque to mark Fred’s legacy
On March - 18 - 2006 ADD COMMENTS
A BLUE plaque to commemorate the late Fred Dibnah is due to be unveiled at his home.
A special ceremony, organised by the Bolton and District Civic Trust, will be attended by the mayor and Fred’s widow, Sheila. Read the rest of this entry »
Canalside tribute plan unveiled
On March - 10 - 2006 ADD COMMENTS
A MULTI-million pound complex called the Fred Dibnah Experience could be built beside a stretch of Bolton’s disused canal.
Developers have put together a series of proposals which, if approved by planning chiefs, would take shape on land near Rock Hall, off Hall Lane, Little Lever.
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The Times Obituary
On November - 8 - 2004 ADD COMMENTS
FRED DIBNAH was the Bolton steeplejack whose no-nonsense love of his work, on-screen charisma and infectious enthusiasm for Britain’s heritage made him a television celebrity and one of the city’s favourite sons.
His commitment to preserving and documenting Britain’s industrial age, great architecture and machinery – especially steam engines – cost him two marriages and may have shortened his life. Having already outlived the 12-month diagnosis he had been given three years before, Dibnah refused chemotherapy for his prostate cancer in order to tour the country aboard his 1912 traction engine for a new 12-part series for BBC Two. He had to abandon this in September and return home to Bolton. Read the rest of this entry »
Bolton Evening News tribute
On November - 8 - 2004 ADD COMMENTS
Town says farewell to Fred Dibnah
FRED Dibnah, Bolton’s celebrity steeplejack who died on Saturday, was a bluff, no nonsense man, who despite being terminally ill with cancer battled on to the end.
He died, surrounded by his family and friends, just weeks after completing his final TV series made as he toured the country on his beloved steam traction engine.
BBC News Obituary
On November - 6 - 2004 ADD COMMENTS
A steeplejack from Bolton, Fred Dibnah, who has died aged 66, became an unlikely television celebrity and was the star of 20 documentaries.
His first appearance, on a local news programme in the north west of England, led to his “discovery” in 1979, as he hung 240 feet up in the air, repairing Bolton’s town hall clock. Read the rest of this entry »
Illness forces Dibnah to cancel
On September - 2 - 2004 ADD COMMENTS
The TV personality, Fred Dibnah, has pulled out of all public appearances as he battles against cancer.
The former steeplejack was due to appear in a sell-out show at the Palace Theatre in Mansfield on 8 September.
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Dibnah steams ahead
On May - 21 - 2004 ADD COMMENTS
FRED DIBNAH, the steeplejack, spoke yesterday of his fight against cancer before setting out on a steam engine journey around the country to film what could be his last television series. Read the rest of this entry »
