I was fortunate enough to know Fred (he lived 200 yards from my parents' house).

He was certainly unconventional in a conventional sort of way... he held on to beliefs which are, these days, considered somewhat old fashioned.

For example, he refused to 'blow up chimneys' as the original posting on this thread suggested. Out of respect for the engineers who built the chimneys, he insisted on dropping chimneys the old fashioned way by removing some brickwork, replacing it with wooden sleepers. Once he was happy with the amount removed, he would set fire to the wooden supports... eventually the chimney would topple in a predictable, controlled way. Controlled? Well, in as much as he knew which way it would fall, but not exactly when...! Hence the old bulb horn he would sound once he knew it was on its way!!

It seems the day before he died he was working on the well he was sinking in the back garden at 'The Two Cats', as his house is locally known - a plaque of the Earl of Bradford's coat of arms is displayed on the front of the house, which was originally the gate house to the Earl of Bradford's estate. The plaque has two cats (lions, I think) on it...

He will be missed.