Veteran takes to the skies to celebrate birthday

Derek Smith may be 80 years old but that hasn’t stopped him taking on a skydive to raise money for his local hospital in Solihull.

Alongside his son Neil, friend Andrew and Andrew’s son Jack, Derek took to the skies at the Hinton Airfield in Oxfordshire to complete his epic challenge and managed to raise a fantastic £1,540 for the Oncology Department at Solihull Hospital.

This was not the first time that Derek has jumped out of a plane, having completed a skydive nearly 60 years ago when he was serving with the British Army in Hamelin, Germany in the 1950s.

Speaking of his inspiration to sign up for a skydive, Derek said: “It was my 80th birthday back in March and I decided to do something a bit different to celebrate so got together with my son, Neil, and some friends to do a skydive.

“I had done a skydive back when I served with the Army, it’s definitely a better experience nowadays with the modern parachutes. The landing was much smoother than it was with the Army parachutes, that’s for sure!”

Derek’s friends and family were keen to support his efforts, and dug deep to sponsor him with the money going to support cancer patients at Solihull Hospital. This included the staff and patrons at the Land Rover Sports and Social Club in Solihull.

Derek said: “Solihull Hospital has been there for my family and I over the years, my brother and sister Ronnie and Dorothy were both treated at the hospital before they passed away.

“The staff at the hospital work so hard for the patients that they treat and so I wanted to do something to give back to them.”

Samantha Howell, Fundraising Manager at Solihull Hospital Charity, said: “The Charity’s thanks go to Derek for his fantastic fundraising efforts. It takes a lot of nerve to take on a skydive, and that he was keen to do one sixty years after his first says a lot about his character.

“The money that he has raised will help the Charity to provide ‘added extras’ for cancer patients at the hospital. Thanks to donations such as Derek’s, the Charity was recently able to help fund the new cancer centre at the hospital which provides a modern and comfortable space for patients to receive their treatment.”

To find out more about how the hospital charity supports cancer patients at Solihull Hospital, click here.

Derek last took on a Skydive during his time in the Army in the late 1950s.