A STEAM enthusiast has paid almost £800 for a collection of Fred Dibnah memorabilia.
Malcolm Bull, aged 55, from Coventry paid £777 for a number of items including some original sketches, a cap worn by Fred and a crushed petrol can which was flattened accidentally by the steeplejack when it fell off his steam roller.
Mr Bull was presented with the items by The Bolton Civic Trust outside Coventry Transport Museum last week.
He said: “Steam is my passion and I shall treasure these items.
“I particularly like the crushed oil can as it has a bit of a story behind it. But the major thing was to get one of Fred’s caps.”
Mr Bull has had a lifelong interest in steam and has a collection of miniature steam rollers in his back garden.
“I have always been interested in steam but unfortunately I can’t afford a full size steam roller.” he said.
Mr Bull also collects classic cars and has eight Morgan Three Wheelers, one dating back to 1913.
Brian Tetlow, of the Bolton Civic Trust, said: “We went to Coventry to meet with Mr Bull and his friends to personally present the prize to him.”
In September, last year, David Barns paid £2,105 for the Fred Dibnah Memorial Collection – containing one of Fred’s famous flat caps, a battered brass oil can, a can of his favourite tipple, Guinness, and a CD-ROM with 60 pictures of the celebrity steeplejack.
A permanent tribute to Bolton’s favourite son is now closer to becoming a reality as his memorial fund has reached £33,000.
Since the appeal was launched by the Bolton Evening News and Bolton and District Civic Trust, donations have flooded in. The fund was boosted when Mortons Media Group Ltd, publishers of Keith Langston’s biographies of the star “Fred Dibnah MBE Volumes I & II” donated £10,000.
(source Thursday, 12 October 2006)
