Fred Dibnah was a rough-hewn steeplejack and a friendly TV personality in a time when the Health and Safety Brigade had not yet mustered.
Fred also had a 1927 AJS H4 motorcycle which featured in his travels and even made the cut onto the big TV. This bike is now in the hands of Trevor Dale, and at the weekend, he met up with Fred’s three daughters at the Astle Park Traction Engine Rally to share stories and show them the motorcycle that was once the pride of their father.
For those who don’t know too much about Fred, here is a little about him. Fred was a Bolton bred Steeplejack by trade, and had a passion for mechanical engineering, referring to himself as a “backstreet mechanic.” Fred became a famous personality when he was filmed by the BBC carrying out some maintenance on Bolton Town Hall in 1978 – his personality and amenable self-taught philosophical attitude put him in the spotlight, and the BBC ordered a documentary that followed the steeplejack as he worked on his vertigo-inducing trade on chimneys.
Rewind the clock back a bit from his days of stardom, to 1962 when Fred returned from National Service. Fred needed a run around to move about the local area to source work, and spotted the little 1927 AJS H4 350cc.
It was an outdated and undesirable bike at the time, but was simple, functional, and well made, and this worked out just right for Fred. The bike was purchased for a grand total of 21 guineas, and became a mode of transport come rain or shine. It became a prominent feature in his life for the next decade, moving him around Bolton and helping him form new friendships.
As an example, while carrying out a repair on the weathervanes at the Bolton Parish Church, the vicar, Richard Greville Norburn, spotted Dibnahs little AJS, and having a keen interest in all things old (he drove a 1929 Humber Limousine), the two quickly became friends. It’s incredible how old machines can bring people together, and still do today.
In one of the early Fred Dibnah BBC series, Fred had to sell his motorcycle due to financial reasons, during which he provided the viewers with some interesting information on his machine:
“I once went to Leeds on this, you know! Yeah! Hell of a journey. Over Blackstone Edge… Bloody winter and all! Yeah… me hands were frozen t’handlebars. This bike, up till 1969, I rode for ten years every day when I first started steeplejacking”.
Fred remarked that the H4 was “made when England made the best motorbikes in the world”, and it would be difficult to argue otherwise.
It turned out that when Fred was riding around on his 350cc H7, he had not in fact passed his motorcycle test which only allowed him to ride bikes up to a capacity of 250cc. Legend would have it that Fred had a mate with a 250cc AJS, and Fred swapped these plates (BWB 25) onto his 350cc bike so that when the Old Bill ran his plates, he was all above board… cheeky chap!
In times of austerity, Fred had to part with him beloved AJS, however as luck would have it, it was saved from the scrap heap. This treasure of a machine is owned by Trevor Dale, who took it to the Astle Park Traction Engine Rally at the weekend where Fred’s daughters Lorna, Jane and Caroline were present with their father’s old Land Rovers – and here is a picture of them with their fathers’ old jewel of a bike.
Thanks to Trevor for sending in the photos and for his input on this story.
— Frederick Travis Dibnah. April 1938 – November 2004 —
an article by The Girder Club
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