My father was a steeplejack from leaving school and most of his working life, think my mother was glad when he was made redundant in his mid 50’s. He had a few accidents that nearly cost him his life, he loved the job because he said every day had new challenges, I remember him telling me about the chimneys swaying when you were up them. It was very poor pay! He worked for a Sheffield company W E Harrisons. He is now 76 years old, still going strong and riding trials bikes in his spare time.
Different kind of brain structure. Some are born with no fear of heights. Some very rare people are incapable of feeling any kind of fear. On evolutionary point of view it is not good thing. Creature with no fear has low chance of surviving.
Cathal O'Shannon was a great reporter. Fair play to him for climbing that stack. His interview with Muhammad Ali a few years later is hilarious and equally memorable
I remember Fred Dibnah been stopped by a Council official after he'd been seen coming out the pub.Fred said "You don't think I'm going up there sober "?
I worked for JJ Mowbray steeplejacks,Belfast. I did it for 7 yrs and was the best time of my life. I'm 58 now and constantly have dreams of falling which wake me up in a sweat..even watching tv where a tall building is being restored i have to switch over.
Haha me too. That’s why I had to quit. I’d have dreams I was falling and just before I hit the ground I’d wake up. I started being scared of heights after that and along with nearly dying at least once a week, I quit soon after. There’s a scene in the video where’s he’s hanging off the scaffold tying on a pulley. That’s what made me quit, I was doing that but with a heavy electric motor and nearly went off. Great fun though, definitely miss it.
@@TheNotoriousMIC The dreams are nature's way of telling you not to do something dangerous you did right to heed them. I get a weird feeling at heights like at cliff tops l have to really fight the urge to do forward somersaults and roll off the edge l feel like l should be jumping off and l would be OK maybe it's some kind of latent memory perhaps l was a bird in a different life or maybe we come from birds not monkeys.. Its the oddest almost overpowering feeling ever. I've had to keep awayfrom high ledges just in case l do it.
@@biggusdickkus2956 damn! I totally feel that, I feel so weird most of times standing there, it’s a small grate between I don’t want to stand here and get away and I kinda wanna jump
@@biggusdickkus2956 really? I'm curious to know more. Me and my mates used to go annually to the Isle of Skye. Great times, great laughs, great memories. There's a 'tourist attraction' there called Neist Point. Huge cliffs, a lighthouse to warn away errant ships, nothing to see but the beautiful Atlantic. Whilst walking up there several times over the years, I had a sudden urge to run and bomb off a cliff. We were 250 feet up. Naturally, I didn't say anything to my mates as I thought I was starting to lose the plot. I was quite taken aback by your comment as I was reliving my experience whilst reading yours. Very interesting. I too have tried to stay away from heights since such was the urge. Crazy as I know I would've died!? 🤔
Hats off to these guys. I was a telecom tower climber here in the U.S. It has it's dangers, but these guys are not even wearing any fall prevention gear. You really have to be comfortable working at heights to do what these men are doing. A rare breed of men
i saw a telecom tower climber video, and that put me off it forever. heights? no i can cope with that. wasps nests lots and lots of large wasp nest for like 200 feet. oh hell no.
these guys were heros and financially abused by such low disrespectful pay and conditions. proper workers who are the backbone of the world never get paid enough for their service. send a lord or civil servant up there to give them an appreciation of the true value these guys n girls provide.
I worked for Beaumont’s in the 70s, that was Bob Fenn who was the baker and Reg Fenn doing the training. They’re two brothers Ron and Billy worked at Beaumonts when I was there. The first job I worked on for them was the Tate and Lyle chimney at Silvertown. Taking the top 50ft off while it was on load.
I never thought I had a problem with heights, until I was up the top of a treble extension ladder and looked down and I froze for a while until I got my nerve back how Fred d and theses guys make it look so easy is beyond me. Fred just climbs up over the boarding and looks down with a smile on his face , balls of steel for sure. Rip Fred D.
It's interesting to consider that working class men with a head for heights would become steeplejacks for low wages. Middle class equivalents would become mountaineers. Which profession was the more socially valuable, and which gained more admiration?
Huge respect for all these guys, balls of steel, i hate heights , i could never do that job, it amazes me how relaxed these guys are working so high up in such dangerous conditions, very brave guys indeed
@@capt.bart.roberts4975yep. And also, you literally have to be calm. If you're in fight of flight constantly you'll wear out your brain and body, and be more susceptible to mistakes. Also, above like 50 feet the risk doesn't increase that much. If you're at 70 or 1000, it's all the same.
How the world has changed... Amazing men with amazing courage. I had to admit to a chuckle as they stand on top of that chimney, no safety harness, wearing a hard hat! 😆
If any of us were up there, we'd wear that hat too 😂 But seriously, the hat is to keep you from freaking out, or being knocked out when a brick or someones hammer accidentally falls. Reducing the injury reduces the reaction to the injury. Injuries in general make people shut their eyes, jump up and down, flail around, etc. And this is a job were any one of those things could make you fall
@@Bloated_Tony_Danza, exactly. The hat wasn't to protect and save you from hitting the ground if you fell, but the prevention of falling off as a result of bumping or being bumped on the head. My job is ground based, but we wear bump hats and it's still a mild shock if you clout your head hard on a solid metal piece of infrastructure, but it protects you. Without the hat, a bump directly to the head could cause a dazed reaction or worse.
No !!! An awe inspiring trade , especially having seen Fred Dibnah in his latter years navigate an overhang on one chimney. They're like mountaineers , except they do something useful .
Standing on top of a two foot thick 300 foot high monster with a 300 foot drop either side of of you, these guys were paid so poor it was a disgrace, and thank you for your service guys
It's not so much what was considered safety as it was who capital considered expendable. The current Tory govt would allow taking steps back towards those days if they think they could get away with it.
Back when I was young and stupid, I would've loved this work had it been available to me! I used to climb everything I could find, and I also used to really enjoy hard labor. You'd have to be a special kind of person to love a steeplejack though. Every time they go to work could be the last time you see them alive.
@@stoufer2000 A left wing , pc,identity obsessed sorry excuse for a national tv Channel. Even this sorry excuse for a conservative government under bs Boris has signed its death certificate for 2027. And you think it’s infested with Tories!! Unbelievable.
4:19 What a breath of fresh air, a boss who is AT LEAST HONEST about how dangerous the job is. While jobs the jobs may be generally much safer now, you don't get any kind of honesty from employers anymore.
I just been watching these videos recently this is the first video I seen where there is multiple steeplejackers working at the same time I've been watching them Fred videos I'm from America so I never heard of him .. I can't stop watching these videos
Same here the Fred clips have been showing up on my recommend lol Fred was an absolute legend of the steeple. Thought the show was brilliant considering it was just about a hard working blue collar jack of all trades.
There is a 1920s film of five on a ladder . I have some internet sites with 4 or 5 at the top (two were cameramen , three were workers demolishing a stack top down )
What a great informative video to let people know it was a superskilled job not just something anyone could do for money or circumstance, no one ever winged that occupation
Good lad for having a go that man. Always said on Fred Dibnah documentaries, he skips up there without a thought.... cameraman really earned his corn though. Chimneys still belching crap out when theyte trying to work too. Doff my cap...
Even fred admitted to needing a jar or two before he went up there, fear of heights is one of two natural fears everyone has....height and loud noises.
Calling all ye Fred Dibnah hardcore fans like me!! Rejoice, be thankful, smile! The TH-cam algorithm has brought us to a blessed part of the internet! Thank Fred and thank the algorithm for bringing the interesting steeplejack wonder of their lives, into our lives. Oh using that parachute harness for safety was clever and fascinating to see.
It's amazing how safety harnesses weren't an obvious requirement for all workers, not just reporters, even back then. Fair play to the journo for giving it a go though. I remember John Noakes climbed up Nelson's column in the 1970s (I think). For a reporter, that was no mean achievement. He also had some awkward transition to cope with near to the top too.
@@Vertical-sandwiches Noakes literally mentions it alongside a shot of the cameraman, and the lady at the end of the footage (don't know her name, before my time innit) mentions him too.
Thanks so much for this amazing look at some of the bravest and most skilled guys in the world. What an atmospheric documentary and really brings home the dedication and ability of steeple jacks. Not forgetting of course, the folks that built so very many of these edifices long before health and safety rules and before the equipment that modern builders have. Remembering Fred Dibnah all the time this was airing!
Highrise restoration mechanic here, worked over 70 floors... while the safety is getting out of hand in the industry as of late, these men were fearless in a different way.
@@cmen6895 seriously? You clown..go to the gaming forums or somewhere more your style, adults are speaking here...or unless you agree with 24" lanyards while doing balcony work on the 48th floor of a highrise buildings..or having to tie off to a ladder while climbing up scaffolding?
@@Me_Myself_and_Eye and CMen....i can see both points of view...with EW i can see the tom selleck moustache..going up to a bar counter...taking a seat and a lady seated next to him swooning when she sees steeplejack written on his jacket...and with Cmen i can see someone jealous of the balls of EW (possibly)....me Im a stolen valour loser called Norm..im a pizza delivery guy in wisconsin...but i tell people im a steeplejack...E.W youre probably disgusted by me stealing your valour...and Cmen im the online tough guy youre looking for not E.W :-)
@freebornjohn2687 There's a massive difference between practicing to climb for a few hours a day with 4 different safety systems to fall back on than working a 10hour shift on something like 1 foot wide in the open air, where wind is sometimes 10x more. You'd be surprised how different the wind feels when you're just 20meters up with nothing blocking the wind. It was also their job, they couldn't have a bad nights rest and be like oh I cba working today, they had to go do it anyway... A climber can just call it off and be like ok, I'll go when i've had more sleep. It's also much higher than what most climbers do. Most climbers climb on indoor walls. You basically cannot die on them lol, even falling from them, the floor is a giant cushion.
@@HELPICANTFINDJOHNCENA You make very good points. To clarify I wasn't talking about indoor weekend climbers I was referring to the climbers that free climb up sheer rock faces. For me they (and the free divers) are truly a different breed of people to the rest of us. With regard to women putting up with hardship have a read of The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievitch. Its a recording of women's experience fighting for the Soviet Union in WW2. I highly recommend it even though its shocking and very disturbing.
I worked in demo for O'Sullivan brothers store st Manchester 1970 help take down a 90 foot chimney was a hard scary job plus top man work loved it. John Rooney st.annes Lancashire UK
@@stevebloomer7027 Wehad an asbestos panel plant here in Belgium not far from where I live. Hundreds of workers from that time died from asbestosis, often only 30 years after exposure
as the hardhats are superfluous if you fall , but they are useful to protect from debris falling from above, which is increased if multiple people are on the chimmy, as Fred mostly worked alone it seems, maybe less bricks and tools falling down , Flat cap it is
Crickey, I was 10 years old when that film was made and can remember well watching these mini-documentaries in black & white. They were fascinating and helped us all become aware of and familiar with the huge number of different people and professions that formed our society back then.
6:21 "You mustn't get too fat." You wouldn't be allowed to say that today. Nowadays, being overweight is encouraged and is considered a 'body type.' How we got to this stage, I will never know.
@@oddities-whatnot Yes, it is quite unbelievable that the most simple grammar is beyond some. Our education systems are really letting people down and it's a shame.
Brilliant...👏👏 Cathal O'Shannon, great Irish journalist. Not afraid to mix it with the great steeplejacks out there... Stay safe all you amazing height defiers 👏👏☘
I liked the Scottish fella in the sheepskin, he had a very confident air about him,a but like Fred Dibnah,something you need or acquire with the job I imagine.
As a rigger and sailor of tall ships the answer is yes, once I'd learned the ropes. Ask a steeplejack how they'd feel if what they were climbing was rolling and pitching in a force ten gale and 30ft waves.....
No mate back then that was balls of steel I'm a rigger and I'm of sailoring to bullshit beach it's not about comparisons it's about the fact they had balls back then but not the tech we have now they had inch stamped nails to hold ladders of them heights is just mad to think off
A few things here that Fred would have disagreed with. It’s not crap, you’re not lonely and the backlog is largely due to poor weather or the owner of the stack failing to identify the problems early, not the lack of steeplejacks. Well done to the that journalist though, he climbed the stack on demand.
@@oddities-whatnot I think he had his own business by the time of the late 80s documentary that I saw. I don't know how lucrative it would have been working for someone else... maybe he did that at the beginning, I don't know...?
I used to regularly hang out of helicopters for a living. I knew it was a ‘numbers game’ so I was meticulous in my preparation. I always too my headset off so nobody could talk to - and distract me - when I was putting it on. I couldn’t do it now. This and the Fred Dibnah series scared the bejeezuz out of me.
@@georgebuller1914 Me 3.. Millions wouldn't get me up there as l might leap off the top l get this almost overpowering urge to try n fly at heights nuts innit
@@georgebuller1914 It's almost like a magnetic feeling, first noticed when l was 16 l was having a picnic about 12 feet from the edge of a cliff top, as l was sat with friends l got the sudden urge to start rolling to the edge and then keep on rolling off the end l felt sure that l would be able fly once l was over the edge, it was almost overpowering l literally had to struggle with myself not to do it, one part of my mind said you can do it, if you do you'll be able to fly it's only fear stopping us all from doing it, and another part of my mind was shouting don't be so fkn stupid you'll burst like a water balloon. It was so weird l didn't tell anyone in case they thought l was nuts .. Maybe l am.. So now l do my level best to keep away from such situations lol.. I wonder what it is where we birds instead of monkeys and its some primordial urge left over in the brain that caused us to make that leap from the nest..?
The brickies who built these things were an amazing race too as were the guys who repointed them (you can see their work here). Note: it doesn’t matter if the chimney is 200 feet or 1000 feet, you’ll be dead if you fall off either height or anything in between. Very brave people. Salt of the earth.
Until I finished work a couple of years back I held the current certs for working at height. To those who think H&S has gone to far, I say "Try it" I would sometimes, quite often do it in the dark, but that's another league. Great video. Thanks.
If you look at the figures for steeplejack deaths at work, it makes for grim reading. There are a catalogue of safety failures even up to last year with firms being fined in Nottingham, Blackburn, Bolton and other places where chimneys proliferate. The most common cause of men falling is poorly maintained scaffolding equipment or botch job repairs on scaffolding. The figures paid out as compensation to families are largely pathetic. I can't watch these videos without feeling physically anxious but still watch because I'm intrigued by the lack of fear these steeplejacks exhibit. They have my utmost respect.
Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view !" Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam." Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!" Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..." Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!" Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky." Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction." Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment ?"
The journeyman who worked with me and showed me the ropes once told me to step across a 5 foot opening at 100 ft. I asked if there was a safety line. He laughed and answered, "You can't be a steeplejack if you don't steeple."
I have to go deep under ground down several sets of 🪜 ladders. My work is on pump stations some 80 feet down. I couldn't imagine going up that high. I have much respect for the men and trade they preform going up. You really learn to deal with the fear of heights but this I can't imagine going up.
Lucky they're all wearing their hard hats. "what did you do before steeple jacking?" "When I came out of the Navy I made wedding cakes" "So, what made you do steeple jacking then?" "Oh it's a lot safer than makin' weddin' cakes. Those brides are lethal!"
So some napkin math... 30lbs in 1965 is 588lbs today, then convert to US dollars that's $734, roughly. I assume that's weekly pay... so that's ~$38k a year. Even ignoring safety advancements since then, that doesn't seem like good pay considering the job....
The TH-cam algorithm sent me down the Fred Dibnah rabbit hole a few days ago, this is insanity. The sheer balls of these guys is actually legendary.
And they are our native indigenous British people
Have you seen Fred’s traction engine adventures yet?
Mate same thing has happened to me! 😂
@@leonarddavies288 White privilege lol
Well said i too have been down the F.Dibnah rabbit hole recently,normally at 6 am weekdays.its better than the news.best wishes.
My father was a steeplejack from leaving school and most of his working life, think my mother was glad when he was made redundant in his mid 50’s. He had a few accidents that nearly cost him his life, he loved the job because he said every day had new challenges, I remember him telling me about the chimneys swaying when you were up them.
It was very poor pay! He worked for a Sheffield company W E Harrisons.
He is now 76 years old, still going strong and riding trials bikes in his spare time.
🐱👍🏿
@@fidelcatsro6948 wish him well
The chimney was only swaying because his massive balls was making the chimney unstable
@@vajeye-nar6172 🤣😂🤣😂 I will have to tell him that. 👍
@@vajeye-nar6172 LOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
"If you make one mistake, it's half a day out with the undertaker.“
~Fred Dibnah
Fred was king
Aye tha knows lad
Top quote that bless him
The entire intro here was quotes from Fred lol. He was truly something else
Well said lad
It’s men like this who made this country hard working fearless men totally respect
I honestly don’t know how anyone could possibly have the nerves and confidence to do this job. A real skill
When men were men.
Different kind of brain structure. Some are born with no fear of heights. Some very rare people are incapable of feeling any kind of fear. On evolutionary point of view it is not good thing. Creature with no fear has low chance of surviving.
Cathal O'Shannon was a great reporter. Fair play to him for climbing that stack. His interview with Muhammad Ali a few years later is hilarious and equally memorable
Here it is....
th-cam.com/video/tCc4VBMEUnI/w-d-xo.html
@@johno4521 thanks for the link. a joy to watch again.
If you watch closely he didn’t climb it , you can see the clipped clips & the climbers face always turning from camera shot.
Cathal O’Shannon from Marino Dublin . ☘️
Well said
I remember Fred Dibnah been stopped by a Council official after he'd been seen coming out the pub.Fred said "You don't think I'm going up there sober "?
I worked for JJ Mowbray steeplejacks,Belfast. I did it for 7 yrs and was the best time of my life. I'm 58 now and constantly have dreams of falling which wake me up in a sweat..even watching tv where a tall building is being restored i have to switch over.
Haha me too. That’s why I had to quit. I’d have dreams I was falling and just before I hit the ground I’d wake up. I started being scared of heights after that and along with nearly dying at least once a week, I quit soon after. There’s a scene in the video where’s he’s hanging off the scaffold tying on a pulley. That’s what made me quit, I was doing that but with a heavy electric motor and nearly went off. Great fun though, definitely miss it.
@@TheNotoriousMIC
The dreams are nature's way of telling you not to do something dangerous you did right to heed them. I get a weird feeling at heights like at cliff tops l have to really fight the urge to do forward somersaults and roll off the edge l feel like l should be jumping off and l would be OK maybe it's some kind of latent memory perhaps l was a bird in a different life or maybe we come from birds not monkeys.. Its the oddest almost overpowering feeling ever. I've had to keep awayfrom high ledges just in case l do it.
@@biggusdickkus2956 damn! I totally feel that, I feel so weird most of times standing there, it’s a small grate between I don’t want to stand here and get away and I kinda wanna jump
As a scaffolder their is often a night where I kick like a mule and wake myself up.
@@biggusdickkus2956 really? I'm curious to know more. Me and my mates used to go annually to the Isle of Skye. Great times, great laughs, great memories. There's a 'tourist attraction' there called Neist Point. Huge cliffs, a lighthouse to warn away errant ships, nothing to see but the beautiful Atlantic. Whilst walking up there several times over the years, I had a sudden urge to run and bomb off a cliff. We were 250 feet up. Naturally, I didn't say anything to my mates as I thought I was starting to lose the plot. I was quite taken aback by your comment as I was reliving my experience whilst reading yours. Very interesting. I too have tried to stay away from heights since such was the urge. Crazy as I know I would've died!? 🤔
Hats off to these guys. I was a telecom tower climber here in the U.S. It has it's dangers, but these guys are not even wearing any fall prevention gear. You really have to be comfortable working at heights to do what these men are doing. A rare breed of men
Have a watch of Fred Dibnah laddering a chimney, it's riveting. Also when he did an overhang so he's effectively angled backwards whilst climbing.
i saw a telecom tower climber video, and that put me off it forever.
heights? no i can cope with that.
wasps nests lots and lots of large wasp nest for like 200 feet. oh hell no.
In the usa, many towerclimbers are died between 1983 and 2023, a few hundreds
@@borntoclimb7116 insane.
@@borntoclimb7116 I understand that, but in my experience it all came down to simple safety . And I was an American tower hand
Fred Dibnah was a legend.
these guys were heros and financially abused by such low disrespectful pay and conditions. proper workers who are the backbone of the world never get paid enough for their service. send a lord or civil servant up there to give them an appreciation of the true value these guys n girls provide.
there were no women there
It'll never happen. Don't waste your time.
There was no equality back then, women were at home while men risked their lives to feed their home.
@@kiro6119 One site out of a million dickhead.
@@forddriver8827 what
Men with caps built England and men with briefcases destroyed it
Well put.
Hear hear
Men with greed intent only on enriching themselves.
Aye
But the briefcases made billions
I was a steepljack in Sydney, for 6 years, my brother in law was also a steeplejack. Loved the job. This brings back some memories.
The answer to the problem of not having enough steeplejacks was a) use proper rope-work and harnesses to make it safer and to b) pay them more.
c. Not build such bloody big structures ...
@@I_Don_t_want_a_handle lol they are that big for a reason. They are dissipating a lot of heat.
They'd be trussed up like that interviewer these days. Elf 'n' safety innit geezer.
@@arbhall7572 Indeed but heat can be a useful resource. They coud have hot water in all the washrooms and not just the CEOs ... ;)
@@arbhall7572 not to mention the fumes, you can't just send plumes of nasties over a town or village
I worked for Beaumont’s in the 70s, that was Bob Fenn who was the baker and Reg Fenn doing the training. They’re two brothers Ron and Billy worked at Beaumonts when I was there. The first job I worked on for them was the Tate and Lyle chimney at Silvertown. Taking the top 50ft off while it was on load.
Couldn't of been on load
I never thought I had a problem with heights, until I was up the top of a treble extension ladder and looked down and I froze for a while until I got my nerve back how Fred d and theses guys make it look so easy is beyond me. Fred just climbs up over the boarding and looks down with a smile on his face , balls of steel for sure. Rip Fred D.
It's amazing what men are capable of. We truly owe our cushy lives to the MASSIVE balls of men like these.
It's interesting to consider that working class men with a head for heights would become steeplejacks for low wages. Middle class equivalents would become mountaineers. Which profession was the more socially valuable, and which gained more admiration?
Fantastic point, working class heroes.
i can't even watch it as I go dizzy.....unbelievable courage and inner steel
Huge respect for all these guys, balls of steel, i hate heights , i could never do that job, it amazes me how relaxed these guys are working so high up in such dangerous conditions, very brave guys indeed
Over thirty feet, you're dead 99% of the time. To quote my daft brother, "I'll be dead, I won't care!"
Bbc nonsense
@@capt.bart.roberts4975yep. And also, you literally have to be calm. If you're in fight of flight constantly you'll wear out your brain and body, and be more susceptible to mistakes.
Also, above like 50 feet the risk doesn't increase that much. If you're at 70 or 1000, it's all the same.
Very true, thanks for your insight.@@viktorbirkeland6520
How the world has changed... Amazing men with amazing courage. I had to admit to a chuckle as they stand on top of that chimney, no safety harness, wearing a hard hat! 😆
I thought that myself lol
If any of us were up there, we'd wear that hat too 😂
But seriously, the hat is to keep you from freaking out, or being knocked out when a brick or someones hammer accidentally falls. Reducing the injury reduces the reaction to the injury. Injuries in general make people shut their eyes, jump up and down, flail around, etc. And this is a job were any one of those things could make you fall
The hard hat protects from hitting your head if you fall
It helps you not to get knocked out from tools or building materials while you're working so that you don't fall.
@@Bloated_Tony_Danza, exactly. The hat wasn't to protect and save you from hitting the ground if you fell, but the prevention of falling off as a result of bumping or being bumped on the head. My job is ground based, but we wear bump hats and it's still a mild shock if you clout your head hard on a solid metal piece of infrastructure, but it protects you. Without the hat, a bump directly to the head could cause a dazed reaction or worse.
No !!! An awe inspiring trade , especially having seen Fred Dibnah in his latter years navigate an overhang on one chimney.
They're like mountaineers , except they do something useful .
Great stuff! I started my steeplejack career 1964 & this summed up just how it was.
Standing on top of a two foot thick 300 foot high monster with a 300 foot drop either side of of you, these guys were paid so poor it was a disgrace, and thank you for your service guys
5 year apprenticeship! That’s 5 years of coming down the ladder to fetch the fish and chips every lunch
The unseen hero here is the cameraman
I used to work for Beaumont, as a steeplejack in the 70s, and the pay was actually excellent.
£2 plus an hour ? I'm guessing.
My feet tingle every time I see these men at work. There is not enough money you could pay me.
"I wanted a nice outside job so, I chose steeplejacking" Now that's a geezer!
coming from modern climbing and rope work, it's incredible what those guys considered proper safety at their times.
The (half rolled) clove hitch on the harness is going to give me nightmares.
It's not so much what was considered safety as it was who capital considered expendable. The current Tory govt would allow taking steps back towards those days if they think they could get away with it.
@@joshuapowers4623yes, obviously it was government mandated how a person ties a rope🤨
@@mikeycassidy5418 I didn't like it either. 🙂
Back when I was young and stupid, I would've loved this work had it been available to me! I used to climb everything I could find, and I also used to really enjoy hard labor. You'd have to be a special kind of person to love a steeplejack though. Every time they go to work could be the last time you see them alive.
Back when BBC was actually worth watching...
Beeb is infested with Tories and their Zionist buds now.. still that's what the UK vote for so blame the dmb British people
@@stoufer2000
A left wing , pc,identity obsessed sorry excuse for a national tv Channel. Even this sorry excuse for a conservative government under bs Boris has signed its death certificate for 2027.
And you think it’s infested with Tories!! Unbelievable.
@@williamdeasy4501 Spot on!
What a ridiculous comment
Yes they were deceiving you then , the reporter never climbed it, watch closely!
Watching the reporter climb the ladder gave me sweaty palms. No way could I do that. Respect to these men.....utter respect.
The Reporter definitely didn't climb the ladder and go up the chimney - it was faked.
4:19 What a breath of fresh air, a boss who is AT LEAST HONEST about how dangerous the job is.
While jobs the jobs may be generally much safer now, you don't get any kind of honesty from employers anymore.
I just been watching these videos recently this is the first video I seen where there is multiple steeplejackers working at the same time I've been watching them Fred videos I'm from America so I never heard of him .. I can't stop watching these videos
Same here the Fred clips have been showing up on my recommend lol Fred was an absolute legend of the steeple. Thought the show was brilliant considering it was just about a hard working blue collar jack of all trades.
Same here.
THE BULDOG SPIRIT !!!OUR FRED !!!😊👍NERVES OF STEEL ✌👊👏BOLTON LANCASHIRE MAN 👊g
There are multiple.
There is a 1920s film of five on a ladder . I have some internet sites with 4 or 5 at the top (two were cameramen , three were workers demolishing a stack top down )
Wow, what a job to have. Nerves of steel.
What a great informative video to let people know it was a superskilled job not just something anyone could do for money or circumstance, no one ever winged that occupation
Good lad for having a go that man.
Always said on Fred Dibnah documentaries, he skips up there without a thought.... cameraman really earned his corn though.
Chimneys still belching crap out when theyte trying to work too.
Doff my cap...
Even fred admitted to needing a jar or two before he went up there, fear of heights is one of two natural fears everyone has....height and loud noises.
@@Paulstrickland01
And Northern women.
Calling all ye Fred Dibnah hardcore fans like me!! Rejoice, be thankful, smile! The TH-cam algorithm has brought us to a blessed part of the internet! Thank Fred and thank the algorithm for bringing the interesting steeplejack wonder of their lives, into our lives.
Oh using that parachute harness for safety was clever and fascinating to see.
8:01 moment of applause for the camera man there with a 1960's camera.
Underrated comment
It's amazing how safety harnesses weren't an obvious requirement for all workers, not just reporters, even back then. Fair play to the journo for giving it a go though. I remember John Noakes climbed up Nelson's column in the 1970s (I think). For a reporter, that was no mean achievement. He also had some awkward transition to cope with near to the top too.
The cameraman done it first, he doesn't get any recognition!
Terry was the cameraman, so he does get my recognition
@@Vertical-sandwiches Noakes literally mentions it alongside a shot of the cameraman, and the lady at the end of the footage (don't know her name, before my time innit) mentions him too.
safety harnesses…what about breathing in those fumes just inches away…can’t be good for you
Harnesses slow a person down doing his job.
Shame it doesn’t show him setting the scaffolding and planks, that’s even more impressive and terrifying
You are not wrong.
th-cam.com/video/6W_7uIapoHc/w-d-xo.html
I watched a video of Fred setting scaffolding, that was impressive.
@@fryloc359 Yes it was. And the strength required to finagle those planks just right !!
Thats crazy!!!! I scaffoldered this chimney!!!! Its the new salvation army living quarters next to Denmark hill train station
The Steeplejacks are impressive but what about the Bricklayers that built the chimneys? They must have been fearless.
I think they built them from the inside, on scaffolding.
Yes I wondered how they built them. Pity was before cameras could record such events.
Would have loved that when i was younger and fitter, never heard of steeple jack until i saw Fred Dibnah. He a real hero that man!!
Thanks so much for this amazing look at some of the bravest and most skilled guys in the world.
What an atmospheric documentary and really brings home the dedication and ability of steeple jacks.
Not forgetting of course, the folks that built so very many of these edifices long before health and safety rules and before the equipment that modern builders have. Remembering Fred Dibnah all the time this was airing!
Me too. I half expected him to do a cameo!
@@teslaphile2097 The patterning on the brickwork at 0.28 is just a work of art especially at that altitude!
@@teslaphile2097I thought your picture was Hitler. I was stunned I just found your average Hitler fan 😂
I carry nothing but respect for these Fred`s.
Wow, now thats a reporter, gotta give him his dues for going up
Highrise restoration mechanic here, worked over 70 floors... while the safety is getting out of hand in the industry as of late, these men were fearless in a different way.
“while the safety is getting out of hand” look out we got a tough guy
@@cmen6895 seriously? You clown..go to the gaming forums or somewhere more your style, adults are speaking here...or unless you agree with 24" lanyards while doing balcony work on the 48th floor of a highrise buildings..or having to tie off to a ladder while climbing up scaffolding?
And what is so wrong with safety ? You probably think safety is for wimps or some other alpha male bullshit.
@@Me_Myself_and_Eye and CMen....i can see both points of view...with EW i can see the tom selleck moustache..going up to a bar counter...taking a seat and a lady seated next to him swooning when she sees steeplejack written on his jacket...and with Cmen i can see someone jealous of the balls of EW (possibly)....me Im a stolen valour loser called Norm..im a pizza delivery guy in wisconsin...but i tell people im a steeplejack...E.W youre probably disgusted by me stealing your valour...and Cmen im the online tough guy youre looking for not E.W :-)
@@Anthony-Testicali haha that was awesome..kinda nailed it..on my end anyways
To be Considered a dying breed even in 1965 is incredible and yet still the trade survives to this day.
Good on the reporter for aving a go though eh lad.
2:25 "Without holding on to any of the scaffolding". 2:47 Holds the scaffolding.
Can’t hear any women complaining of equal opportunity with this line of work
There are some amazing female climbers going up sheer rock faces by their finger tips so I might appeal to some, but is definitely for the very few.
@freebornjohn2687 There's a massive difference between practicing to climb for a few hours a day with 4 different safety systems to fall back on than working a 10hour shift on something like 1 foot wide in the open air, where wind is sometimes 10x more.
You'd be surprised how different the wind feels when you're just 20meters up with nothing blocking the wind.
It was also their job, they couldn't have a bad nights rest and be like oh I cba working today, they had to go do it anyway... A climber can just call it off and be like ok, I'll go when i've had more sleep.
It's also much higher than what most climbers do. Most climbers climb on indoor walls. You basically cannot die on them lol, even falling from them, the floor is a giant cushion.
@@HELPICANTFINDJOHNCENA You make very good points. To clarify I wasn't talking about indoor weekend climbers I was referring to the climbers that free climb up sheer rock faces. For me they (and the free divers) are truly a different breed of people to the rest of us. With regard to women putting up with hardship have a read of The Unwomanly Face of War by Svetlana Alexievitch. Its a recording of women's experience fighting for the Soviet Union in WW2. I highly recommend it even though its shocking and very disturbing.
@@HELPICANTFINDJOHNCENA
Still not hearing any complaints though.
Genius.
Whatever those guys were paid simply wasn't enough. Nerves of steel required to do that job so utter respect to those guys.
God bless the working class.
I have nothing but respect for these guys.
I watched a Dibnah video on how they peg those ladders into place and that alone gave me the chills.
I worked in demo for O'Sullivan brothers store st Manchester 1970 help take down a 90 foot chimney was a hard scary job plus top man work loved it. John Rooney st.annes Lancashire UK
The majority of these man served overseas in WW2. Balls of steel.
Including the reporter Cathal O Shannon. RAF man
Respect. What more can I say.
That’s a big negative for this ole’boy. I’m terrified of heights and not ashamed of it. Lots of respect for these fellas.
RIP Fred Dibnah. One of the best to do it ❤️
One of my boyfriends in the 60’s was a steeplejack for a while and then a few years ago he died of asbestos. 😢
Poor man RIP.
@@stevebloomer7027 Wehad an asbestos panel plant here in Belgium not far from where I live. Hundreds of workers from that time died from asbestosis, often only 30 years after exposure
@@stevebloomer7027 The actual asbestos is glass needles. The almost invisible needles pierce your lungs and give you cancer.
Surprised it was asbestos and not black lung, that’s still a the big killer in coal mines and plants
@@stevebloomer7027 Its a poisonous substance genius
Also, as a climber; it's never the fall you have to worry about, it's the hard, abrupt stop at the bottom.
STEVE McQueen SAID SO Far SO good 😨THEN BANG 😮😂g
You can die of heart attack on the way down
I used to erect steel frames, and that was my answer when I was asked about falling. "It's not the falling that hurts".
An old joke
"Would you die if you fell?"
"Oh no of course not! But I certainly would if I hit the ground"
i love how these guys go up chimneys with hard hats on
fred dibnah goes up with a flat cap lol 😆
as the hardhats are superfluous if you fall , but they are useful to protect from debris falling from above, which is increased if multiple people are on the chimmy, as Fred mostly worked alone it seems, maybe less bricks and tools falling down , Flat cap it is
Crickey, I was 10 years old when that film was made and can remember well watching these mini-documentaries in black & white. They were fascinating and helped us all become aware of and familiar with the huge number of different people and professions that formed our society back then.
6:21 "You mustn't get too fat." You wouldn't be allowed to say that today. Nowadays, being overweight is encouraged and is considered a 'body type.' How we got to this stage, I will never know.
Never in a million years would I of gone up that ladder
My knees were wobbling watching it
"have gone" not "of gone".
Have gone, not of gone.
@@8-bitsteve500 Grammar police is out. Unbelievable.
@@oddities-whatnot Yes, it is quite unbelievable that the most simple grammar is beyond some. Our education systems are really letting people down and it's a shame.
Brilliant...👏👏 Cathal O'Shannon, great Irish journalist. Not afraid to mix it with the great steeplejacks out there... Stay safe all you amazing height defiers 👏👏☘
I liked the Scottish fella in the sheepskin, he had a very confident air about him,a but like Fred Dibnah,something you need or acquire with the job I imagine.
You guys have my utmost respect.
My grandfather was a stonemason in England and knew Fred back in the 1960s, hard men back then..
These guys were paid poorly for their work, heroes of the sky. As always RIP to all those people and never forget Fred Dibnar a legend.
As a rigger and sailor of tall ships the answer is yes, once I'd learned the ropes. Ask a steeplejack how they'd feel if what they were climbing was rolling and pitching in a force ten gale and 30ft waves.....
No mate back then that was balls of steel I'm a rigger and I'm of sailoring to bullshit beach it's not about comparisons it's about the fact they had balls back then but not the tech we have now they had inch stamped nails to hold ladders of them heights is just mad to think off
Yeah alright. Don't tell me; you had a peg leg too!
Those men at the top in the smoke made my hair stand on end 😮
Praise the camera man, hopping about, the side and under the climbing reporter 😂
Apparently bosses were a lot more honest in those days. How times have changed.
Good news reporter too. Went up 😁
4:38 the high mortality among steeplejacks seems to amuse him
I thought that too.
That reporter had some balls to go up there even with a harness on!
A few things here that Fred would have disagreed with.
It’s not crap, you’re not lonely and the backlog is largely due to poor weather or the owner of the stack failing to identify the problems early, not the lack of steeplejacks.
Well done to the that journalist though, he climbed the stack on demand.
Fred earned plenty doing his job. He had a nice life, nice house and all that. I don't see it being poorly paid.
@@oddities-whatnot Chances are, much of his 'wealth' came from other stuff - T.V. work etc...
also he would have a pint, a cig at the top, and being a bit portly did him no harm :)
@@oddities-whatnot I think he had his own business by the time of the late 80s documentary that I saw. I don't know how lucrative it would have been working for someone else... maybe he did that at the beginning, I don't know...?
I used to regularly hang out of helicopters for a living. I knew it was a ‘numbers game’ so I was meticulous in my preparation. I always too my headset off so nobody could talk to - and distract me - when I was putting it on. I couldn’t do it now.
This and the Fred Dibnah series scared the bejeezuz out of me.
When I climb my 25ft ladder I feel like a king :-)
You simply couldn’t pay me enough to do this.
You too eh? LOL
@@georgebuller1914
Me 3.. Millions wouldn't get me up there as l might leap off the top l get this almost overpowering urge to try n fly at heights nuts innit
@@biggusdickkus2956 Weird, yes - but you are NOT alone! LOL
@@georgebuller1914
It's almost like a magnetic feeling, first noticed when l was 16 l was having a picnic about 12 feet from the edge of a cliff top, as l was sat with friends l got the sudden urge to start rolling to the edge and then keep on rolling off the end l felt sure that l would be able fly once l was over the edge, it was almost overpowering l literally had to struggle with myself not to do it, one part of my mind said you can do it, if you do you'll be able to fly it's only fear stopping us all from doing it, and another part of my mind was shouting don't be so fkn stupid you'll burst like a water balloon. It was so weird l didn't tell anyone in case they thought l was nuts .. Maybe l am.. So now l do my level best to keep away from such situations lol.. I wonder what it is where we birds instead of monkeys and its some primordial urge left over in the brain that caused us to make that leap from the nest..?
The brickies who built these things were an amazing race too as were the guys who repointed them (you can see their work here). Note: it doesn’t matter if the chimney is 200 feet or 1000 feet, you’ll be dead if you fall off either height or anything in between. Very brave people. Salt of the earth.
Until I finished work a couple of years back I held the current certs for working at height. To those who think H&S has gone to far, I say "Try it" I would sometimes, quite often do it in the dark, but that's another league. Great video. Thanks.
too far.
Too far in the mundane things but essential for any real dangerous work.
It absolutely has gone too far. Ruined the world more than it's saved people.
If you look at the figures for steeplejack deaths at work, it makes for grim reading. There are a catalogue of safety failures even up to last year with firms being fined in Nottingham, Blackburn, Bolton and other places where chimneys proliferate. The most common cause of men falling is poorly maintained scaffolding equipment or botch job repairs on scaffolding. The figures paid out as compensation to families are largely pathetic.
I can't watch these videos without feeling physically anxious but still watch because I'm intrigued by the lack of fear these steeplejacks exhibit. They have my utmost respect.
Makes me feel sick and unsteady just watching this , how brave are these men
Mrs Richards: "I paid for a room with a view !"
Basil: (pointing to the lovely view) "That is Torquay, Madam."
Mrs Richards: "It's not good enough!"
Basil: "May I ask what you were expecting to see out of a Torquay hotel bedroom window? Sydney Opera House, perhaps? the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? Herds of wildebeest sweeping majestically past?..."
Mrs Richards: "Don't be silly! I expect to be able to see the sea!"
Basil: "You can see the sea, it's over there between the land and the sky."
Mrs Richards: "I'm not satisfied. But I shall stay. But I expect a reduction."
Basil: "Why?! Because Krakatoa's not erupting at the moment ?"
I can honestly say i don't have what it takes!
I've never seen someone climb down a ladder so quick like I did at the end then
These guys should have been the highest paid in any of the trades💵
All I'll say is the best teacher has sadly passed on to higher peaceful place. RIP sir Fred
4:29 that was a brave hat to wear in England in the 70s 😂
The journeyman who worked with me and showed me the ropes once told me to step across a 5 foot opening at 100 ft. I asked if there was a safety line.
He laughed and answered, "You can't be a steeplejack if you don't steeple."
I have to go deep under ground down several sets of 🪜 ladders. My work is on pump stations some 80 feet down. I couldn't imagine going up that high. I have much respect for the men and trade they preform going up. You really learn to deal with the fear of heights but this I can't imagine going up.
Miss how report was done before - how the report can report something real and people can speak clearly and precisely about a real matter
Interesting little video - thanks for uploading :)
Lucky they're all wearing their hard hats.
"what did you do before steeple jacking?"
"When I came out of the Navy I made wedding cakes"
"So, what made you do steeple jacking then?"
"Oh it's a lot safer than makin' weddin' cakes. Those brides are lethal!"
Having been up to the top of one of these chimneys i can safely say i appreciate solid ground a lot more now
So some napkin math... 30lbs in 1965 is 588lbs today, then convert to US dollars that's $734, roughly. I assume that's weekly pay... so that's ~$38k a year. Even ignoring safety advancements since then, that doesn't seem like good pay considering the job....
my palms are sweaty just from watching this