 "102-year-old woman, a military veteran, celebrates birthday by skydiving")
Manette Baillie, a 102-year-old military veteran, has become the oldest British skydiver. Baillie, who hails from Benhall Green in Suffolk, performed the stunt on Sunday to mark her birthday and raise money for three charities that she described as "very dear to my heart".
The video of Baillie's incredible feat has gone viral on social media showing the moment when she jumped out of a plane. In the video, she could be seen fearlessly leaping from the aircraft with her instructor floating through the skies with a serene smile.
Watch the video here:
Baillie raised over £10,000 from this, although her target was to raise around £30,000 for the East Anglian Air Ambulance, Motor Neurone Disease Association and her local Benhall and Sternfield Ex-servicemen’s and Village Club, which she mentioned as heart and soul of the lovely community and needs considerable refurbishment.
During the Second World War, Baillie served in Egypt with the Women’s Royal Naval Service (Wrens). Before her skydiving jump, Baillie said, “You must always look for something new. I was once married to a paratrooper but have never done [a sky-dive] myself.”
A large crowd of spectators gathered together to support the 102-year-old veteran including members of her local community, who reached the airfield and witnessed the momentous jump.
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After successfully completing the jump, she told Sky News that when the door opened, she thought that there was nothing more that she could do or say. Just Jump!
Baillie thought that she jumped, “I remember my legs going out and it’s a kind of blur. I shut my eyes. We seem to travel at a very fast speed,” she added.
The idea of skydiving hit her mind when she heard the story of her friend's father who had done a parachute jump at the age of 85 and wanted to do it again soon as he landed. Baillie then said that if an 85-year-old woman could do it, she could too.
The 102-year-old woman has now broken the record of Britain's oldest parachutist, Verdun Hayes, from Devon, who achieved the feat in May 2017, when he was 101 years old.
She has personal reasons to support charity – an air ambulance once saved the life of her son after a diving accident on the Isle of Wight in 1969.
This is not the first instance when she performed such an adrenaline-fuelled challenge. On her 100th birthday, Baillie drove a Ferrari at a speed of 130mph.
Prince William, who previously volunteered for the charity, wrote, “Catherine and I hear you will be marking your 102nd birthday next week with a parachute jump! Knowing you celebrate your 100th birthday by racing a Ferrari around Silverstone, we are not surprised."
Before taking the jump, she told BBC Radio Suffolk that the fact that she used to remain healthy encouraged her to take on her thrill-seeking challenges.
She also said that she is lucky to be fit. She also mentioned that I can't just waste it, other people are crippled with arthritis and I'm not.
She said her secret to a long and fulfilling life was “community, friends and being among people”.
She said, be interested in everything and be kind to those around you and let them be kind to you. Don't forget to party.