Tag Archives: World War Veterans

10,000ft Skydive By World War 2 Veteran

skydiving On a number of occasions, we have reported on various skydiving jumps that we feel may be of interest to many of you who are involved in this exiting sport. This latest jump involves a World War 2 veteran who has not parachuted for 74 years until a few days ago.

The gentleman in question is called Harry Read and he is a mere 94 years of age. At the age of 20, on the 6th June 1944, he landed in Normandy by parachute whilst working as a wireless operator. In those days, parachutists left using their parachutes until they were as close to the ground as they could safely get presumably to help avoid detection by the enemy. Apparently, back then it only took in the region of 30 seconds from jumping out of the plane to landing on the ground.

Mr Read made the jump a few days ago at the Old Sarum Airfield near Salisbury in Wiltshire in tandem with the Chief Instructor by the name of Ryan Mancey. He had been given a clean bill of health by his doctor. On this occasion, you will be pleased to read that he was raising money for the Salvation Army’s Anti Trafficking and Modern Slavery section. He has been a member of the Salvation Army for many, many years and was awarded the Chevalier in 2016 with this being the highest honour in France.

He certainly is a brave chap and, next year, to celebrate a 75th anniversary, he hopes to do another skydive.

Supporters at the jump included his grand daughters and great grandson so it was very much a family occasion.

Those of you who have skydived will no doubt appreciate how brave Mr Read was to complete such a jump especially at his time of life. There cannot be many people in their 90’s who have skydived from 10,000ft. We will keep you advised of any other interesting jumps that may take place on the next few months. Congratulations to Mr Read from all of us here at AIB Insurance.

Chelsea Pensioner Skydives

Chelsea Pensioner

There has always been something rather special about Chelsea Pensioners who are frequently seen in their red coats proudly displaying their medals attending numerous ceremonies and events around the UK. As you will probably be aware, they are war veterans from the British army so are not unaccustomed to danger.

Well, recently a Chelsea Pensioner took to the skies to skydive. Mike Smith who is 68 years of age actually completed his 100th skydive. However, there had been quite a period of time since he last skydived as it was some 23 years ago since he last did such a thing.

As if that was not interesting enough, also taking part in the same skydiving event were two world war veterans who are both 91 years of age. They were actually fortunate to complete their jump at the Red Devils Parachute Team’s base that is at Old Sarum Airfield near Salisbury in Wiltshire. The jump was made for the benefit of the Taxi Charity for Military Veterans that was no doubt pleased to receive financial support.

We are pleased to hear that all three landed safely on the day and no doubt enjoyed a thrilling experience that they will no doubt never forget. Well done to the three gentlemen.Chelsea Pensioner Skydives

Here at AIB Insurance, we are able to arrange cover for a wide range of airborne sports including skydiving. With an extensive panel of insurers at our disposal we are often in the position of arranging quality insurance at very competitive premiums. So, if you are looking to arrange suitable insurance to cover you whilst skydiving, why not give us a call on 02380 268 351 and speak to one of our friendly, knowledgeable members of staff who will be happy to discuss your individual requirements and arrange a quotation without any obligation on your part. We look forward to hearing from you.