Wednesday 18 November 2026

10:00

Masonic Hall

The Man Who Tested Parachutes

Speaker: Andrew Colley

Description:

Our speakers on Wednesday 18th November will be Andrew Colley who lives nearby at Little Bradley. He was formerly a Senior Lecturer at the University of East London. Charles Agate - the man who tested parachutes - was Andrew's headteacher at Primary School in the 1960's, but it was 50 years later that Andrew uncovered the remarkable story of Agate's life.

By 1940 the Allies had fallen behind the Axis powers in parachute design and research. Other than as a means of escape from a doomed aircraft, the British regarded parachuting as of little military value. All that changed when the Germans used paratroops, the Fallschirmjäger, to devastating effect in the invasion of the Low Countries, and Churchill demanded immediate action.

The call went out for men who would be prepared to risk their lives testing parachutes, jumping and landing techniques. Charles Agate was a 34-year-old schoolteacher with a taste for adventure when he joined a pioneering group of mavericks at RAF Ringway in Manchester. He made 1601 jumps, earning a place in the Guinness Book of Records, but he became addicted to taking risks and also witnessed at first hand the deaths of many recruits.

Andrew's talk tells the story of this courageous but complex man, his struggles with his mental health, and the impact on his family. It charts Agate’s journey to becoming the unconventional head teacher of a village school and his clashes with local authorities. Finally, it describes unflinchingly the last dark twist in the life of this complex man.

It promises to be a most interesting talk.