Fred Dibnah laddering a chimney

JCMaloney

Member
Location
LE9 2JG
Born in 1938, probably started work at between 14-16 (at a guess) so was working since 1954 give or take.
So he worked for the best part of 50 years in a very different era never killed himself nor anyone else.... 3 wives, 5 kids seemed to have enjoyed life IMHO.
Times have changed, not necessarily for the better, where as many of us learnt what hurts the hard way today`s generation now seem to think it is always "someone else" who should look after them...... I`m starting to sound like my grand father....
 

Hilly

Member
Born in 1938, probably started work at between 14-16 (at a guess) so was working since 1954 give or take.
So he worked for the best part of 50 years in a very different era never killed himself nor anyone else.... 3 wives, 5 kids seemed to have enjoyed life IMHO.
Times have changed, not necessarily for the better, where as many of us learnt what hurts the hard way today`s generation now seem to think it is always "someone else" who should look after them...... I`m starting to sound like my grand father....
Well said, a better era imho better class of humans back then.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
In the 1950's my uncle climbed a wooden ladder with the end of a 20 foot A frame on his shoulder, got to the top and bolted it to the column while father and grandad steadied it from toppling with ropes from the ground. He had to do this 16 times to put the hay shed roof up. When I look at that roof today, 70 years on, it makes me feel self indulgent to complain about anything I have to do. He also smoked 20 a day, ate all the wrong things but lived a very active and productive life till he was seventy. He was hard working, tidy, particular and didn't stand for any fooling about.

It all seemed to go wrong about the same time as flared trousers came out. Too much of the wrong sort of education or something.
 

Sharpy

Member
Livestock Farmer
In the 1950's my uncle climbed a wooden ladder with the end of a 20 foot A frame on his shoulder, got to the top and bolted it to the column while father and grandad steadied it from toppling with ropes from the ground. He had to do this 16 times to put the hay shed roof up. When I look at that roof today, 70 years on, it makes me feel self indulgent to complain about anything I have to do. He also smoked 20 a day, ate all the wrong things but lived a very active and productive life till he was seventy. He was hard working, tidy, particular and didn't stand for any fooling about.

It all seemed to go wrong about the same time as flared trousers came out. Too much of the wrong sort of education or something.
Any chance of a photo of the roof?
 

Hilly

Member
517C1FEF-9474-4C81-BF15-571D5203407A.jpeg
E1A82176-58F1-4CE5-953D-FDADD88873A3.jpeg
One is a bed wetter the other has the vc both 22 years old
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Any chance of a photo of the roof?

DSCN1237.JPGDSCN1238.JPGDSCN1239.JPG

All built with ladders and hand tools, as they didnt have two pennies to rub together at the time. Still watertight after 65 years. End cladding added about 20 years ago to keep damp from driving through the concrete blocks.
About 12 foot to tops of oak columns. Designed by father. It served its purpose but the high peaked double pitch is a pain to fill with telehandler. Designed for hand stacking small bales. I added the open fronted monopitch cattle shed to the left in first picture (you might recognise it, @Warp Land Farmer ). Took out 3 oak columns and rested old roof on end of cattle shed. Makes driving in much easier.
 
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Sharpy

Member
Livestock Farmer
View attachment 842096View attachment 842097View attachment 842098

All built with ladders and hand tools, as they didnt have two pennies to rub together at the time. Still watertight after 65 years. End cladding added about 20 years ago to keep damp from driving through the concrete blocks.
About 12 foot to tops of oak columns. Designed by father. It served its purpose but the high peaked double pitch is a pain to fill with telehandler. Designed for hand stacking small bales. I added the open fronted monopitch cattle shed to the left in first picture. Took out 3 oak columns and rested old roof on end of cattle shed. Makes driving in much easier.
Looks very well, obviously carefully erected, asbestos roof too, tin roof would be knackered by now. Proper job.
 

DrWazzock

Member
Arable Farmer
Location
Lincolnshire
Looks very well, obviously carefully erected, asbestos roof too, tin roof would be knackered by now. Proper job.

Dad always liked a steep pitch. He worried about snow collapsing it. He didn't like these monopitch rooves with only foot drop full length. The asbestos will probably last another 10 years, probably see us out. Every sheet was mitred with a hand saw, probably safer than creating a lot off dust with a stone wheel. Then they slid the sheets up ladders onto the roof. Different times indeed. They had a better head for heights than I do. I like to take all reasonable precautions. Nothing clever about killing yourself or ending up paralysed for life. I'm fully aware of that, before the H and S people start kicking off. I'm just reminiscing.
 

nails

Member
Location
East Dorset
When we had an Atcost Barn put up in the early 70,s The roofers carried all the asbestos/ fibre cement sheets on their back up a ladder . There was no safety net and they would walk across the purlins. The bolt holes were drilled with a breast drill and the mitres cut with a handsaw. Things have changed a lot since then.
 
When we had an Atcost Barn put up in the early 70,s The roofers carried all the asbestos/ fibre cement sheets on their back up a ladder . There was no safety net and they would walk across the purlins. The bolt holes were drilled with a breast drill and the mitres cut with a handsaw. Things have changed a lot since then.
my x farther in law worked for them lots of stories like that he told different times indeed .. I remember when they built T5 at heathrow they had a scheme called million to one ,,, a million man hrs accident free ,, then a chippy got killed building shuttering that buggered up there target
 

Hilly

Member
When we had an Atcost Barn put up in the early 70,s The roofers carried all the asbestos/ fibre cement sheets on their back up a ladder . There was no safety net and they would walk across the purlins. The bolt holes were drilled with a breast drill and the mitres cut with a handsaw. Things have changed a lot since then.
We had one built in the early 90s like that.
 

S J H

Member
Livestock Farmer
Location
Bedfordshire
“clever” would be to simply tie a safety rope around you !

Impressive / skilled as he is he’s not “clever”

I do enjoy watching his stuff though, amazing man

Big arrogant to say that he wasn't clever, he was obviously very clever to do what he did in his lifetime, I think he was 17 when he built some f**k off chimney on his mums house.

I expect that people back then would argue that harnesses would affect balance and the time taken to keep moving the rope further up would cause more risk.

When I went on a working from heights course, they said you can die pretty quicker from being suspended by a harness. I think it was because of the pressure on the main arteries in your legs.
 

JCMaloney

Member
Location
LE9 2JG
Big arrogant to say that he wasn't clever, he was obviously very clever to do what he did in his lifetime, I think he was 17 when he built some fudge off chimney on his mums house.

I expect that people back then would argue that harnesses would affect balance and the time taken to keep moving the rope further up would cause more risk.

When I went on a working from heights course, they said you can die pretty quicker from being suspended by a harness. I think it was because of the pressure on the main arteries in your legs.

https://news.sky.com/story/carlisle...-temporary-ladders-15ft-above-ground-11848520

Ironic that they still work in the same way as Fred but the monumental amount of "H&S" probably prevented an effective rescue. Although if the poor guy was having some sort of MH crisis I wouldn`t fancy having a chat 300 foot up. :(
 

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Red Tractor drops launch of green farming scheme amid anger from farmers

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As reported in Independent


quote: “Red Tractor has confirmed it is dropping plans to launch its green farming assurance standard in April“

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