British Kindertransport refugee, 94, becomes Israel’s oldest skydiver
Walter Bingham fell from 13,000 feet as a belated birthday present - and insists he'll do it again before he reaches 100
A British-Israeli man approaching his 95th birthday has just become the oldest Israeli to skydive – and says he wants to do it again when he reaches 100.
Walter Bingham, who was born in the Weimar Republic in 1924, fell from the skies over northern Israel from a single-engine Cessna last week as a belated 94th birthday “treat”. He’ll be 95 in January.
“Tied to the instructor, we moved to what would have been the door and I sat with my feet hanging out of the plane looking down from 13,000 feet,” he recalled. “I wore a short-sleeved shirt. It was surprisingly warm at that altitude.”
He continued: “After a little push we were out, 4km up and free-falling without support for just short of a minute. It was an extraordinary feeling of elation and suspense, until the instructor pulled the chord. We went from flying horizontal to hanging vertical. The gentle descent gave ample opportunity to look at the scenery.”
Bingham said he had views over Haifa Bay and the old city of Acco before landing in a field, “precisely as arranged,” where those on the ground helped protect his feet on landing – “a nice gesture to an old person”.
Would he do it again? “Yes, God willing, for my 100th birthday – and I’m not joking,” he says. “I’m already contemplating my next trick – going up in a balloon, or flying a plane, because I still have a license.”
Earlier this year, he received the Legion d’Honneur, France’s highest award, in a ceremony aboard a French warship in Haifa harbour. Having fled to Britain from Germany after Kristallnacht in 1939, he took part in the D-Day landings at Normandy in 1944, landing on the beaches as an ambulance driver.
Last year Bingham, who has worked as a journalist and actor, broke a Guinness World Record by becoming the oldest radio talk show host, after making aliyah in 2004.
“My next goal is to break the world record for oldest working journalist,” he says. “Breaking records is my latest hobby!”
Thank you for helping to make Jewish News the leading source of news and opinion for the UK Jewish community. Today we're asking for your invaluable help to continue putting our community first in everything we do.
For as little as £5 a month you can help sustain the vital work we do in celebrating and standing up for Jewish life in Britain.
Jewish News holds our community together and keeps us connected. Like a synagogue, it’s where people turn to feel part of something bigger. It also proudly shows the rest of Britain the vibrancy and rich culture of modern Jewish life.
You can make a quick and easy one-off or monthly contribution of £5, £10, £20 or any other sum you’re comfortable with.
100% of your donation will help us continue celebrating our community, in all its dynamic diversity...
Engaging
Being a community platform means so much more than producing a newspaper and website. One of our proudest roles is media partnering with our invaluable charities to amplify the outstanding work they do to help us all.
Celebrating
There’s no shortage of oys in the world but Jewish News takes every opportunity to celebrate the joys too, through projects like Night of Heroes, 40 Under 40 and other compelling countdowns that make the community kvell with pride.
Pioneering
In the first collaboration between media outlets from different faiths, Jewish News worked with British Muslim TV and Church Times to produce a list of young activists leading the way on interfaith understanding.
Campaigning
Royal Mail issued a stamp honouring Holocaust hero Sir Nicholas Winton after a Jewish News campaign attracted more than 100,000 backers. Jewish Newsalso produces special editions of the paper highlighting pressing issues including mental health and Holocaust remembrance.
Easy access
In an age when news is readily accessible, Jewish News provides high-quality content free online and offline, removing any financial barriers to connecting people.
Voice of our community to wider society
The Jewish News team regularly appears on TV, radio and on the pages of the national press to comment on stories about the Jewish community. Easy access to the paper on the streets of London also means Jewish News provides an invaluable window into the community for the country at large.
We hope you agree all this is worth preserving.
