Smudger Snippets
Created | Updated Nov 18, 2004
I suppose it's because I have so much time on my hands these days, that all these memories come flooding back to me.
Fred Dibnah
I thought this week I would dedicate this Snippet to Fred Dibnah who passed away on the 6th November, 2004; he will be sadly missed on our television programmes.
For those of you who have no idea who he was, he was a steeplejack who appeared on a one of documentary about demolishing industrial chimneys, then became a famous television presenter. I have not done a complete background on him1, but the information I am sharing with you all just now, comes from watching all his programmes. By the time he hit our screens he was already an elderly gentleman who came from the north of England. He always wore the same style of working clothes, along with his watch and fob, no matter where he was. He had a strong natural northern accent which, along with his dusky voice, was pleasant to the ear when listening to him.
One of his main passions was steam engines, along with any kind of early engineering. In fact he had a collection of steam machines that he had fully restored himself. His first appearance on television was when he was demolishing a tall industrial chimney using the old-fashioned method which, in fact, he used in everything he did. This is what I think made him so interesting. What he actually did to demolish this chimney was to knock a hole at its base, then light a large fire in the hole. This caused the structure to weaken and fall exactly where he said it would.
In fact, at one point, the director of the documentary was really anxious about the safety of his crew and kept asking Fred about exactly it would land. Fred was just so calm and relaxed as he spoke to the director; you could see the confidence in his face as he told the director that had demolished hundreds of these chimneys in that way without any problem. Sure enough, when the time came the chimney fell exactly in the direction that Fred had predicted.
Fred had a way of talking to people and putting information over to them that was so relaxing to watch and listen to. His hands would flay around as he described the action of machinery and you could actually see the enthusiasm in his face. He was just so fascinated in the subject that you found yourself sharing it with him. He had this way of talking and listening to people that meant he was at home anywhere. For example, in one programme he appeared with a fellow steam enthusiast and the director of Lloyds of London insurance, yet there seemed to be no class barrier at all. It was the architecture of the Lloyds building he was discussing in that programme and comparing it to the architecture of older buildings like St Pauls Cathedral and other famous land marks throughout the UK.
He was a hands-on man, quite prepared to get his hands dirty and get stuck in as he demonstrated all the old types of building. In fact, he spent an entire programme making timber joints along with craftsmen just to show exactly how all these old buildings are constructed. He was never afraid to go anywhere; he did a program about bridges in the UK and actually walked across the high structure of the Forth Rail Bridge just to show how all the rivet joints were done. The knowledge he could put across to his viewer was just amazing. He must have spent days researching all his details yet, as he spoke, you got the impression that he was just making it up as he went along.
Despite all his fame he never changed and was still presenting his programme in the same relaxed manner. I suppose years ago, when all presenters had posh voices and were dressed in evening suits, he would never have been seen on television. Yet I, for one, am just glad he did. His natural manner along with his northern accent made him a fascinating man to watch and listen to. Like I mentioned earlier steam engines were his passion and I can remember the episodes on television where he restored, along with its owner, the very first steam-driven fairground ride. They basically rebuilt it from scratch using all the old methods of the craftsmen. On the completion of the restoration you could see in his eyes the love that he had for that steam-driven ride as he talked his way around it during the filming.
I suppose in a way Fred was born out of time. You got the impression that he should have been around at the turn of the nineteenth century, which is when all this technology took place - The Industrial Revolution they called it. Yet, if he had been there, who would be around to share all that enthusiasm and passion about that steam age today?
