The Oldie Podcast

Manette Baillie, Oldie Flying Angel of the Year By Harry Mount This summer, Manette Baillie parachuted her way into the nation’s hearts as Britain’s oldest skydiver. At 102, Manette made her first ever jump, plunging from 13,000 feet up in the air over Beccles Airfield, Suffolk. Having served as a Wren in World War II, plucky feats of derring do were nothing new to Manette, of Benhall, Suffolk. “It was a bit scary. I must admit I just shut my eyes firmly – very firmly,” she said of the jump, which raised £30,000 for the Benhall Village Social Club, the Motor Neurone Disease Association and East Anglia Air Ambulance. Just days before her jump, Manette got a personal message from the Prince of Wales on her 102nd birthday, wishing her a happy birthday and saying he and the Princess of Wales would be thinking of her during her mighty leap into the unknown. The Prince of Wales said of the charities she was helping, ‘They are tremendous organisations who help so many people. From my time with East Anglian A