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steeplejack painter

mariew

mariew

master brummie
On my grandads death certificate it says his occupation was steeple jack, painter at the corporation gas works, but I cannot imagine this was a permanant job as they would not need painting al of the time. Also I should imagine it was quite a dangerous job does anyone know anything about this occupation please.
 
It sure was a permanent job (like the Forth Bridge once you reached the end ...you had to start all over again) Gasometer are a lot bigger than you think their is all the steelwork then the inside steel plated drums that rise and fall with the amount of gas being used.
When Full of Gas they are fully raised till they go down and empty then the supply is switched over to another one while gas refills the other one and it begins to rise and so on .....
And as a kid I climbed the ones at Nechells and its a long way up (foolhardy and reckless) but I have never had a fear of heights...........
 
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Thanks for that cromwell it must have been quite a difficult job he must have been quite fit I should imagine, I have driven past these and looking at them I thay are enormous and as for climbing one of them you must be good with heights I get shakey standing on a chair, I forgot to ask do they still have steeple jacks doing the job today or is it scaffolding with all the health and safely.
 
You still have got the old style steeplejack who works for himself but they are a dying breed .....today they employ people who abseil and to work on high buildings they have to use cradles (and I have seen a few of those collapse) Fred Dibnam (spelling incorrect I think ) was a great Steepjack now sadly dead but what a great bloke
 
thanks for that Cromwell, my husband loves watching Fred Dibhem when they repeat it.
 
Hi

I think Fred spelt his name with H.
What a fantastic guy from Bolton.
"did you like that"
as thousands of Tons of Bricks were
dropped between buildings.
We all miss his Klaxon horn

Mike
 
Thanks for the thumbnail mike and getting the spelling right when I wrote it I knew it was wrong, Fred was a great fellow indeed.
 
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