diff --git a/src/OSspecific/POSIX/printStack.C b/src/OSspecific/POSIX/printStack.C
index df31b35f7b..4a3859dcae 100644
--- a/src/OSspecific/POSIX/printStack.C
+++ b/src/OSspecific/POSIX/printStack.C
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   =========                 |
   \\      /  F ield         | OpenFOAM: The Open Source CFD Toolbox
    \\    /   O peration     |
-    \\  /    A nd           | Copyright (C) 2011 OpenFOAM Foundation
+    \\  /    A nd           | Copyright (C) 2011-2012 OpenFOAM Foundation
      \\/     M anipulation  |
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 License
@@ -167,6 +167,26 @@ void getSymbolForRaw
 }
 
 
+void error::safePrintStack(std::ostream& os)
+{
+    // Get raw stack symbols
+    void *array[100];
+    size_t size = backtrace(array, 100);
+    char **strings = backtrace_symbols(array, size);
+
+    // See if they contain function between () e.g. "(__libc_start_main+0xd0)"
+    // and see if cplus_demangle can make sense of part before +
+    for (size_t i = 0; i < size; i++)
+    {
+        string msg(strings[i]);
+        fileName programFile;
+        word address;
+
+        os  << '#' << label(i) << '\t' << msg << std::endl;
+    }
+}
+
+
 void error::printStack(Ostream& os)
 {
     // Reads the starting addresses for the dynamically linked libraries
diff --git a/src/OpenFOAM/db/error/error.H b/src/OpenFOAM/db/error/error.H
index ea599b6550..8216f5f71f 100644
--- a/src/OpenFOAM/db/error/error.H
+++ b/src/OpenFOAM/db/error/error.H
@@ -2,7 +2,7 @@
   =========                 |
   \\      /  F ield         | OpenFOAM: The Open Source CFD Toolbox
    \\    /   O peration     |
-    \\  /    A nd           | Copyright (C) 2011 OpenFOAM Foundation
+    \\  /    A nd           | Copyright (C) 2011-2012 OpenFOAM Foundation
      \\/     M anipulation  |
 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 License
@@ -162,6 +162,10 @@ public:
         operator dictionary() const;
 
 
+        //- Helper function to print a stack (if OpenFOAM IO not yet
+        //  initialised)
+        static void safePrintStack(std::ostream&);
+
         //- Helper function to print a stack
         static void printStack(Ostream&);