This 102-year-old daredevil is taking birthdays to new heights.
Manette Baillie, from Suffolk, England, celebrated another year of a life well-lived by jumping out of a plane — and raising over $13,000 (£10,000) for her favorite charities throughout the UK.
Baillie, a former World War II cadet with the Women’s Royal Naval Service, is no stranger to taking risks: On her 100th birthday, she raced a Ferarri at the official track of the British Grand Prix, reaching 130 miles per hour.
“You must always look for something new,” she told reporters on Sunday while gathered for her high-flying feat. “I was once married to a paratrooper but have never done [a sky-dive] myself.”
She decided that skydiving would be her next big move when a friend shared that her 85-year-old father had recently completed his first jump. “If an 85-year-old man can do it, so can I,” Baillie said.
Baillie told BBC Radio Suffolk she’s grateful to be in such good shape for her age. “I’ve been so lucky to be fit and well that I’ve got to do something with it, that’s really the back of it,” she said. “I can’t just waste it, other people are crippled with arthritis and I’m not.”
A large crowd of friends, family and spectators gathered at an airfield in Benhall Green, which Baillie has called home for over three decades, to watch the grandmother sail the blue sky.
“When the door opened I thought, there is nothing more I can do or say. Just jump,” she told Sky News after the stunt. “Well, I suppose I jumped,” she continued, “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.”
Aside from her altruistic achievement, Baillie also took Britain’s record for their oldest skydiver in history — a title previously held by Devon resident Verdun Hayes at 101 years and 38 days in May 2017, according to the Guardian.
Baillie’s jump was met with well-wishes from Prince William, who wrote, “Catherine and I hear you will be marking your 102nd birthday next week with a parachute jump! Knowing you celebrated your 100th birthday by racing a Ferrari around Silverstone, we are not surprised.”
The money Baillie raised will be going to support aid organizations within her local community, particularly the East Anglian Air Ambulance, whose first responders saved her son’s life after a car accident in 1969.
Added the Duke of Cambridge in his letter, “From my time with East Anglian Air Ambulance, I know how many lives are saved due to the generosity of people like you.”
Baillie said she couldn’t have lived this long without the support of her loved ones — but that’s not all it takes, she told BBC Radio.
“Keep busy, be interested in everything, be kind to those around you and let them be kind to you,” she advised. “And don’t forget to party.”
