LONDON: A 101-year-old British citizen Bryson William ‘Verdun’ Hayes on Sunday become the world’s oldest tandem skydiver. He jumped from 15,000 feet on Sunday.
Eight members of his family jumped with him, including his son Bryan, grandson Roger and great-grandsons Joe and Stanley.
Hays skydived for the very first time a year ago to celebrate his 100th birthday. “Last year’s skydive was an amazing experience,” he said in a press statement. “I must have got a bit of a taste for it, because it just made me want to do it again.”
While talking about his jumping experience, he said, “oh, absolutely over the moon.”
The previous record was held by Canadian Armand Gendreau, who skydived from 10,000 feet in June 2013 aged 101 and three days.
Hayes, who is named after a famous World War I battle. His father, fighting with the British troops in France, wrote home to his pregnant wife asking her to name their child after the Battle of Verdun, if it was a boy.
Hayes later served in World War II as a Lance Corporal and was part of the D-Day campaign, which saw the Allied forces successfully begin the liberation of Nazi-occupied Europe.
