The Man who Tested Parachutes: Book Launch

Charles Agate was a 34-year-old schoolteacher from Surrey with a taste for adventure when he joined a pioneering group of mavericks at RAF Ringway in Manchester. Their task? The Allies had fallen behind the Axis powers in parachute design and research and brave men were needed who would be prepared to risk their lives testing parachutes, jumping and landing techniques. The book tells the story of an ordinary man who took extraordinary risks. Between 1941 and 1946 Agate lived alone with his Alsatian dog in a small caravan underneath the trees in Tatton Park. In those 5 years he completed an astonishing 1601 jumps from planes and balloons, often from low altitude and using prototype parachutes and un-tried techniques. Agate was also a Parachute Jump Instructor (PJI) and he and his fellow PJIs trained thousands of raw recruits at Tatton Park for the key airborne operations of the war, as well as over 600 Special Operation Executive agents for dropping into enemy territory, frequently accompanying them as dispatchers on these hazardous flights. It also remembers the young recruits who died before they were able to take part in the key battles for which they were being trained. The book’s authors will be at the launch and will present an illustrated talk about Charles Agate. There will also be the opportunity to visit the vestiges of Agate’s wartime balloon station and to buy copies of the book signed by the authors.