parachutes, they would be showing the
general public massed around the DZ an idea
of what the original drop looked like in 1944.
Waiting for the jumpers on the ground was
George Moodie and his wife Hilary. George is
a Paratrooper veteran of the original drop and
his son Doug, also a former Paratrooper, was
somewhere behind Roy in the first stick. They
were going to have a lot to talk about once he
landed!
“Action stations!” Ian called and Roy moved
into the door, handing him his static line. It
was a nice day for it; it was a bit gusty despite
the blue skies, but nothing they couldn’t
handle and well within safety parameters.
Behind Roy the rest of the stick shuffled
forward and bunched up close behind him. It
would have to be a fast exit to make sure no
one missed the DZ.
Roy looked down and could see the blue
flashing lights from the French police car
blocking the road on the edge of the DZ.
Hundreds of people lined the road, their white
faces clearly seen looking upwards towards
the aircraft. Roy recognised the track marking
the leading edge of the DZ from the aerial
map they had seen during their briefing at
Carpique Airport. This must
have been very close
to what the original
drop had been like,
although Pathfinder
was not jumping into
enemy territory as the
spearhead for one of
the biggest invasions in
human history – and they
were not about to get
shot at!
LIVING HISTORY
“Green on! Go!” Ian shouted in Roy’s ear
and slapped him on the shoulder.
As a drill movement he stepped smartly into
the 120mph slipstream and braced as his feet
came up level with his shou