Steam engines were his great passion, so much so that they put paid to his first marriage. His wife, Alison, left him in 1985, taking their three daughters with her and complaining: "He is married to his engines." The couple had their first child, a girl named Jayne, in June 1968. Alison was initially worried about her husband's occupation but learned to deal with the risk and to trust Fred. She organised his accounts and even collected debts. She also helped him demolish some of the chimneys that he worked on, by lighting the fire to burn away the temporary supports he had put in place. [31] Chimney felling [ edit ] FRED DIBNAH has always been a man out of his own time. Growing up a youth in the 1940s in Bolton, Lancashire, he lived near the railway lines and there began a lifelong fascination with steam locomotives.

Graduation Summer 2000", RGU News Article, Robert Gordon University, 3 August 2000, archived from the original on 27 September 2007 , retrieved 20 October 2009 Dibnah was praised by many notable British people. After reporting on his death, television presenter Peter Sissons remarked: "They don't make them like that any more". Comedian Peter Kay said: "It's very sad news. He was one of a kind and now he has gone I think there will be no one else like him. He was enthusiastic about a way of life that has virtually disappeared now." Brian Tetlow, chairman of the Bolton and District Civic Trust, said: "He's unique, not just to Bolton but to Britain and the world. Our thoughts are with his wife and children." [103] Dibnah died from bladder cancer in November 2004, aged 66. [2] Early life [ edit ] Childhood [ edit ] McBain, Gayle (2 October 2013), "17 facts you didn't know about Fred Dibnah", The Bolton News, Bolton , retrieved 15 January 2019 Anon (2013) Fred Dibnah’s Steam Roller, Betsy. The Bolton News. [Online] Available at: < https://images.app.goo.gl/JojzvZmfmwHwFyHCA> [Accessed 28 th April 2021].

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Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre items sold at auction", BBC News, 18 March 2018 , retrieved 18 March 2018

First marriage [ edit ] Dibnah's home, 121 Radcliffe Road, a former Victorian gatehouse in Bolton. Now the (closed) Fred Dibnah Heritage Centre a b "Fred's steam monster barred for his big day", Manchester Evening News, 8 July 2004 , retrieved 30 October 2009 Town says farewell to Fred Dibnah". Bolton Evening News. 8 November 2004. Archived from the original on 23 June 2012 . Retrieved 3 June 2013– via freddibnah.co.uk.

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Attempts to sell the landmark property since have also proved unsuccessful. Read More Related Articles I was slightly nervous shaking hands with the Queen. She asked me if I was still climbing chimneys. It beats me how she keeps tabs on everybody. I never thought I would be receiving an MBE.

The following year, he met Sue, 20 years his junior, whom he met at a steam-engine rally. They married in 1987, only to divorce in 1996. In 1998, Fred Dibnah married his third wife, Sheila. An 8-foot (2.4m) bronze statue of Dibnah was unveiled by the Mayor of Bolton, in Bolton town centre, on 29April 2008. The sculpture was created by Jane Robbins. [104] His home was converted into a heritage centre in 2010 [105] but its contents were sold at auction in March 2018. [106] Sometimes he'll have busted his thumb because he's hit it with a hammer; you couldn't really expect him then to come in and start doing things in the house. I just don't think it's fair though, I think you've got to strike a balance and I think ours is about 90/10. Me for 90 per cent of the housework and Fred for 10." [68]Bunyan, Nigel (17 November 2004), "Steam-powered funeral for Fred Dibnah", The Telegraph, London , retrieved 28 October 2009 Dibnah died on 6November 2004, after suffering from cancer for three years. [97] He was 66 years old. [41] [98] Dibnah was the Castaway on Desert Island Discs on 1 December 1991. [96] Death [ edit ] Dibnah's coffin being drawn along the streets of Bolton Fred Dibnah's grave in Tonge Cemetery

Television | Documentary in 1980", Awards Database, British Academy of Film and Television Arts , retrieved 2 May 2019 And so it proved. Haworth's documentary about Dibnah won two awards and led to a host of other programmes over the next 25 years. Television Nominations 1979", Past Winners and Nominees, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, 1979, archived from the original on 15 January 2009 , retrieved 19 October 2009 Anon (1996) The Fred Dibnah Story [Online Film] Available at: < https://youtu.be/wffv8YeoeeM> [Accessed 28th April 2021]. However, the strain of living with a man so dedicated to his hobbies began to take its toll on his wife:Ogilvie. I. (Date unknown) Photograph of Fred Dibnah. [Online photograph] Available at: < https://images.app.goo.gl/6RcdTR8xNW7unLCa6> [Accessed 28 th April 2021].