Fred’s last will and testament, made just three weeks before his death on November 6, 2004, ensures his most loved possessions should go to his sons Jack and Roger and his daughters Jayne, Caroline and Lorna.

To his boys, he left his beloved Aveling and Porter steam tractor, Aveling and Porter 1910 steam roller and distinctive road menders’ hut.

His sons shared his passion for industrial heritage and even paid their last respects to their unique father by driving the vehicles in his funeral procession through the streets of Bolton.

His daughter Lorna gets his 1750 James Butler (Bolton) grandfather clock and his sons Jack and Roger get his collection of vehicle oil lamps, drawings done by Fred and his library on steam engines.

The sons are also willed the contents of his yard and workshop at his home in Radcliffe Road on the understanding that the executors of the will allow people to visit the yard while the property remains in Fred’s estate.

Everything else, including all property, income and future royalties from his television productions and books are to divided equally between the five children, being held in trust until they reach the age of 18.

Frederick Travis Dibnah appointed his friends William Richards, Alan Davies and Alf Molyneux as executors of his will and the £1,042,845 fortune he left.

Nowhere in the will is there any mention of his widow, Sheila Dibnah who claims he was distracted towards the end of his life when he cut her out of the will.

The former Blackpool showgirl was his third wife, marrying him in 1998 and has vowed to get a share of his estate by launching a legal bid to have the will overturned. Her solicitors will launch a reasonable provision claim.

(source Tuesday, 13 February 2007)

Sheila Dibnah has been left nothing from the celebrity steeplejack’s reported £1 million estate.

Details of his last wishes were revealed to members of his family this week – with everything reportedly divided between his five children.

Mrs Dibnah last night vowed to contest the settlement and has launched a legal bid to have it overturned.

She said: “It was not a completely unexpected announcement. In the last year of Fred’s life he was a very poorly man. His mind was extremely distracted towards the end and I bear that in mind and I hold it close to my thoughts.

“I would hate for his memory to be besmirched by the will and people thinking he has acted selfishly. He was a kind man who was well loved and should be respected for who he was.

“I have solicitors on the case and have launched a reasonable provision claim. In this country it is the right of the wife to be left at least something in a will.

Fred Dibnah was Britain’s unlikeliest superstar. The portly Boltonian was never without his trademark flat cap or waistcoat and made his name through his antics as a steeplejack and undying passion for steam engines.

His personal life was as diverse as the man himself. He spotted his first wife Alison when she was 13 and he was working on her dad’s roof. They next met when she was 19 and started going out. Impatient to marry, they eloped to Gretna Green to tie the knot. The couple were married for 18 years and had three daughters, but it all ended in an acrimonious divorce and unwelcome headlines.

He met and married Sue, 20 years his junior, and they went on to have two sons before this union also ended in divorce. In 1998, he married glamorous Sheila Grundy, with whom he spent six happy years.

Fred was made an MBE in the 2004 New Year’s Honours list for his services to heritage and broadcasting. He always recognised that steeplejacking was dangerous: “One mistake up here, and it’s half a day out with the undertaker” was his cryptic assessment.

The TV personality was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2001 and given just 12 months to live. But he fought the illness with his typical northern grit and eventually lost his battle in November 2005 Specific details of what has been left in his will are expected to be made available next week. Mr Dibnah’s estate is understood to include his house in The Haulgh and his countless steam engines and engine paraphernalia.

Members of Fred’s family were last night remaining tight-lipped about the publication of his will, which also leaves nothing to Nathan, Mrs Dibnah’s son.

(source Saturday, 10 February 2007)

Dibnah’s will was finally published yesterday more than two years after he died aged 66.

The star’s estate will be divided up between his five children – Jack, Roger, Jane, Caroline and Lorna.

His third wife Sheila, who nursed him through his final months as he battled cancer, gets no mention in the will. Neither does her son Nathan.

Sheila’s elderly mother Mavis said last night: “I don’t think publication of the will will come as a shock to her.”

Dibnah’s first wife Alison and second wife Sue are also ignored.

Alison left him in 1985 taking their three daughters with her, complaining: “He’s married to his engines.”

He divorced Sue in in 1996 and married Sheila two years later.

Fred’s two sons inherit his beloved Aveling and Porter steam tractor, the Aveling and Porter steam roller he christened Betsy after his mother, a road hut and his collection of vehicle oil lamps. They also receive his books, drawings and the contents of his yard and workshop.

Daughter Lorna was left an antique grandfather clock.

The rest of the estate, royalties from his television shows and books were to be held in trust for his children until they reached 18.

Dibnah, from Bolton, became an unlikely star with his cloth cap and Lancashire accent scaling huge chimneys as he prepared to demolish them.

His career took off in his 40s when he starred in BBC documentary Fred Dibnah Steeplejack. He later had his own TV show and 20 films made about him. In 2003 he was awarded the MBE.

He died in a hospice in November 2004 surrounded by family and friends.

After bouts of chemotherapy he spurned treatment deciding to end his days making a final TV series and living on Guinness and oranges.

(source)