Book description
In 2004, after felling his last chimney and retiring from
steeplejacking, Fred took to the road on his beloved traction engine
for the BBC series Made in Britain. 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. It was a
journey that took him to Britain's most iconic engineering marvels as
well as less familiar sites: from the Forth Bridge and the
Middlesbrough Transporter Bridge to Europe's last deep-working iron
ore mine in Cumbria and a local castings workshop in Bo'ness.
This behind-the-scenes account of that ambitious journey is made all
the more remarkable by Fred's heroic efforts to complete it while
suffering from terminal cancer. It is not only a glorious testament to
our nation's industrial achievements but also a story of the
friendships, unfailing courage and determination of the nation's
favourite steeplejack.
David Hall
was Fred Dibnah's TV producer for many years, as well as a close
personal friend. He made all of the most recent television series and is
also the producer of
Fred Dibnah's World
. He is the author of
Fred: the definitive biography of Fred Dibnah
,
Fred Dibnah's Buildings of Britain
and
Manchester's Finest
, an account of life in Manchester in the aftermath of the deaths of the
Busby Babes.
