Charity skydive in honour of poorly wife

A MAN will attempt a 13,000ft skydive for charity on Tuesday.

Dave Williams, 66, is fund-
raising for Alzheimer’s Dementia Support in honour of his wife, Susan, who was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in her fifties and now lives at the Sanctuary Care Home in Watlington.

Mr Williams has had a passion for air travel since he was a boy. As a teenager, he was a cadet with the Air Training Corps.

He has flown in aircraft ranging from Spitfires to Mustangs and with pilots including Alan Cassidy, the four times British national aerobatic champion, who has endorsed his appeal.

He once skydived from 9,000ft in New Zealand but says this jump will be more meaningful.

Mr Williams, from Chinnor, said: “It is such a personal and worthy cause.

“The thing is, there is nothing you can do about Alzheimer’s except care for that person as best you can until the point you can’t do it any more. That’s what happened with us a year and a half ago.

“I could see things were going wrong with Sue and we ended up going to a hospital in High Wycombe for an initial diagnosis. Right away, they told us she had Alzheimer’s.

“We had to go to the memory clinic for further tests and a review of her condition but nothing was getting easier or better.

“I had given up work, which I fortunately could do, to become her full-time carer. I did this for quite a few years until some mishaps happened and she couldn’t stay at home anymore. I got her to where I wanted her to be, in Watlington, and they do a sterling job at the home.

“I visit her twice a week, which I am able to do because it is near me and I bring our barky border collie who also visits other patients. They all love to see her.

“But it has been a bit of a tough fight.”

Mr Williams decided to undertake his fundraising challenge after a chance meeting one lunchtime.

He said: “I was at a pub in Thame and I saw a sponsorship form for a girl called Michelle who was doing a charity skydive to raise money for pancreatic cancer research, which her mum had. I asked the person behind the bar: ‘Who’s Michelle?’ and they responded: ‘She has been serving you your lunch’.

“We had a conversation and I asked her if she wanted me to skydive with her. I decided I would do it for charity too and this one is very close to my heart.”

The pair will jump out of the plane together at Hinton Airfield in Oxford.

Mr Williams said his flying experience would help him, adding: “I just want to do it. It would scare the life out of many people but not me.

“I have had so much support, which is amazing. I have to keep pinching myself.”

To donate via JustGiving, visit https://bit.ly/40LAtNF