94-year-old D-day veteran to parachute into Normandy to mark 75th anniversary

Great-grandfather Harry Read to repeat jump he made in June 1944

A 94-year-old Second World War veteran is planning to re-enact his parachute jump into Normandy to mark the 75th anniversary of D-Day.

Harry Read was a 20-year-old wireless operator when he first landed on the battlefields of northern France on 6 June 1944.

After plunging into a flooded trench near Le Mesnil, he made it through the war before going on to become leader of the Salvation Army in the UK and a great-grandfather.

During a visit to Normandy for last year’s D-Day commemorations, he thought to himself, “Why not do it again?”

Mr Read, who admits it is a “stupid thing to do”, set about researching and preparing for the jump.

During WWII Harry Read was a member of the 3rd Parachute Brigade (The Salvation Army)

“The more I thought, and prayed, the more foolish it appeared do a skydive in Normandy without having first done one here in the UK,” he said.

Last September he successfully completed a “test” skydive at the Old Sarum Airfield near Salisbury in Wiltshire after his doctor assured him his heart was “as healthy as a middle-aged man”.

He found it a very different experience to his D-Day jump with the 3rd Parachute Brigade, which lasted just 30 seconds, but said he felt “lucky to have been able to experience this at my age”.

He added: “This was my first high-level skydive and whilst I was a little nervous I have always enjoyed the thrill of parachuting. It was amazing to experience the freefall and then cruising down was simply beautiful.”

Next month he will join the Red Devils parachute display team to carry out his jump with another D-Day veteran, 94-year-old Jock Hutton, and former Countdown star Carol Vorderman.

“We will fly over to Normandy where we will parachute into the celebrations,” said Mr Read.

He intends to sit in the same position in the Dakota plane – seat number 12 – as his D-Day jump. However, he will not be equipped with the same heavy radio equipment or a gun.

The event, described as a “Jump for Freedom” on his fundraising webpage, has already raised more than £7,000 for the Salvation Army and its work to fight human trafficking and modern slavery.

“Parachute jumps are dependent upon reasonable weather but all being well I will be jumping again on 5 June – almost to the hour since my jump into Normandy 75 years ago,” he said.

Mr Read, who was awarded France’s highest honour, the Legion d’Honneur, in 2016, said he was looking forward to the challenge.

“Yesterday is not our best, our best is tomorrow,” he said.