crew visited the Forth Road Bridge and Dibnah became the first man to drive a traction engine under its own steam across the bridge. Such pleasures provided a welcome distraction for Dibnah, who was by then ill and in pain. By the end of June, he was so ill, he could not continue filming. He was sent home to rest and given medication to alleviate his condition, so that he could collect his MBE. Filming continued at various locations around the country, with sons Jack and Roger, who had become essential members of the tour, providing much-needed support for their father. By the end of July, the crew had filmed only 34 days with Dibnah, out of a planned 60. It was becoming more difficult by the day for Dibnah to fulfil his filming duties and the crew decided to cut short the schedule. Once home, Dibnah decided to creosote the pithead gear in his garden, but fell and injured his back. He was adamant that he would continue filming, however, and made the trip to North Wales to complete filming. He later made a partial recovery and completed his last day's filming at an Ironworks in Atherton. Honours In mid-2000, Dibnah was awarded an honorary degree of Doctor of Technology for his achievement in engineering, by Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen, and on 19 July 2004, he was made an honorary Doctor of the university by the University of Birmingham. Dibnah was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in the 2004 New Year Honours for services to heritage and broadcasting. He said "I'm looking forward to meeting the Queen but I shall probably have to get a new cap. And I'd like to meet Prince Charles because we share the same views about modern architecture." On 7 July 2004, Dibnah went to Buckingham Palace to receive his award from the Queen. He initially planned to drive his traction engine into the palace grounds, but was refused as the Royal Parks Agency feared that its weight would damage the surface of The Mall. Eventually, he was allowed to drive the engine to Wellington Barracks, a short distance from the palace. He collected his medal wearing morning dress and a top hat. Dibnah was the Castaway on Desert Island Discs on 1 December 1991. Death Dibnah died on 6 November 2004, after suffering from cancer for three