1965: Could YOU be a STEEPLEJACK? | Tonight | Classic BBC Clips | BBC Archive
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 มิ.ย. 2024
- "Their job is one of the most dangerous in the world. You fall off a stack like this only once, so if you're a steeplejack, then you're a careful man."
Tonight's Cathal O'Shannon reports on the craft of steeplejacking. As industrial chimney stacks grow taller and taller, the number of willing and able steeplejacks to build and maintain them is in sharp decline. Steeplejacking is a dying art. With that in mind, the largest British steeplejack firm has set up a 'steeplejack school' in an attempt to encourage a new generation of steeplejacks to the profession.
What kind of character does it take to do this perilous job for a living? Could you make your way to the top as a steeplejack? Could you graduate from steeplejack school?
Originally broadcast 4 January, 1965.
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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
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 "?
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 honestly don’t know how anyone could possibly have the nerves and confidence to do this job. A real skill
When men were men.
Fred Dibnah was a legend.
It’s men like this who made this country hard working fearless men totally respect
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.
My dad used to be a steeplejack. He did get sacked though on one job if i remember rightly. Him and his crew built an 850ft tower, over a period of 1 year, they finally got to the very top and didnt know how to finish off the top capping. They decided to have a look at the drawings and realised they had been looking at it upside down and was meant to have dug a well....
😂
^ boomer joke on every fred video
lol
😂😂 brilliant
@@Lungoose’Cos boomers actually have a sense of humour.
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 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!? 🤔
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.
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 .
It's amazing what men are capable of. We truly owe our cushy lives to the MASSIVE balls of men like these.
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 was a steepljack in Sydney, for 6 years, my brother in law was also a steeplejack. Loved the job. This brings back some memories.
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
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
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
5 year apprenticeship! That’s 5 years of coming down the ladder to fetch the fish and chips every lunch
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.
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 used to work for Beaumont, as a steeplejack in the 70s, and the pay was actually excellent.
£2 plus an hour ? I'm guessing.
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. 🙂
My feet tingle every time I see these men at work. There is not enough money you could pay me.
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
@@KarlPilkington89 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.
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.
8:01 moment of applause for the camera man there with a 1960's camera.
Underrated comment
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.
2:25 "Without holding on to any of the scaffolding". 2:47 Holds the scaffolding.
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.
Thats crazy!!!! I scaffoldered this chimney!!!! Its the new salvation army living quarters next to Denmark hill train station
Great stuff! I started my steeplejack career 1964 & this summed up just how it was.
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 )
"I wanted a nice outside job so, I chose steeplejacking" Now that's a geezer!
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.
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 can't even watch it as I go dizzy.....unbelievable courage and inner steel
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.
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!!
RIP Fred Dibnah. One of the best to do it ❤️
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
Wow, what a job to have. Nerves of steel.
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.
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.
You guys have my utmost respect.
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
Respect. What more can I say.
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 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.
Wow, now thats a reporter, gotta give him his dues for going up
4:38 the high mortality among steeplejacks seems to amuse him
I thought that too.
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
Whatever those guys were paid simply wasn't enough. Nerves of steel required to do that job so utter respect to those guys.
I carry nothing but respect for these Fred`s.
Praise the camera man, hopping about, the side and under the climbing reporter 😂
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!
Interesting. The sound was so good. It was well done.
Really enjoyed that.
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.
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
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 👏👏☘
Interesting little video - thanks for uploading :)
God bless the working class.
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.
I love how bulky & simple his knot for his harness was when he tested the climb out.
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.
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"
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!
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.
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.
@@ashleyhyne7027 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
@@ashleyhyne7027 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
@@ashleyhyne7027 Its a poisonous substance genius
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.
Soooo insightful
Incredible.
When I climb my 25ft ladder I feel like a king :-)
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...?
You can see why health and safety got involved. Those guys are dam brave. 🇺🇲🌹🌹👍
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.
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 ?"
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..?
That's real graft. Those men are tough 👍🇬🇧
4:29 that was a brave hat to wear in England in the 70s 😂
Apparently bosses were a lot more honest in those days. How times have changed.
my palms are sweaty just from watching this
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.
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!"
I've never seen someone climb down a ladder so quick like I did at the end then
This gives me the willies
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.
All I'll say is the best teacher has sadly passed on to higher peaceful place. RIP sir Fred
I spent a lot of time at 80 feet The first time I almost pissed my pants and my legs were shaking so bad I looked like I was dancing. Although working off a basket with nothing underneath showed me what coward I was. After a couple of days you no longer think about it
You're not a coward if you are scared but you still do it.
“Courage isn't just a matter of not being frightened, you know. It's being afraid and doing what you have to do anyway.” - 3rd Doctor.
Amazingly brave.
I really enjoyed watching that and very educational, also how lucky have we got it in todays day and age
"What Particular dangers do they meet on a stack 200-300 feet high?" I think Gravity is the biggest danger.
Richard Banham... Gravity sucks.
You could pay me a £1000 a day and I still wouldn’t want to do it 😯😯😯
I was a fearless young man and good with the skills they need but if you see how they put the ladders and staging up at those heights no way would I have had it in me.I think too much and thats the killer.
@@glennpowell3444 Watch Fred Dibnah on how he erected the ladders, scary stuff from the legend.
@@scudosmyth784 I have seen.Ridiculously scary stuff.There is a video of him climbing The Indian Mill chimney in Darwen that goes over two 5foot overhangs.How he got the ladders across those god only knows.Steeplejacks are in a league of their own for doing what must be the most dangerous job you could choose to be in.
Makes me feel sick and unsteady just watching this , how brave are these men
I really hope to Hell that this was/is a well-paying trade. I was paid well in my career, because I worked with very toxic chemicals.... not a job many chose, even with the pay-rate we had.
I would say without hesitation that, Steeplejacks easily deserve hazard pay. Hell if I'd want to shimmy up one of these things, but somebody has to. That somebody's bravery is to be rewarded.
Nameless Entity it was poor pay. My dad was a steeplejack from leaving school until he was made redundant in his mid 50’s, He’s now 76.
He enjoyed the job, he had a few accidents that very nearly cost him his life. Very little health & Safety in them days.
Boss is quite cheery about the fact that lots of people expire for crap wages...
Standard Manager. Never been near a ladder, just directs others and takes more money.
Well my grandfather was from those days.i worked with him along time.we used alot of ' steeple jack ' techniques to paint flag poles, grain silos, and crazy tall barns..we actually used that swing..its called a 'boseman chair' ( spelling is prob wrong). And that lil loop you put your foot in gives you stability .. I found out later in life it is similar to sky diving ..as you completely depend your life on simple equipment..and if it fails you will not survive..