Bayo's Normandy 80th Anniversary Parachute Jump

Over 80 years ago, across most of Southern England, The largest amphibious invasion force to amass, was in its final stages of assembly with over 2 million troops readying themselves for battle. Operation 'Overlord' (D-Day), was about to change the course of history.

As part of that invasion, soldiers and specialist operatives were busy getting their last minute parachuting skills honed for what would be the greatest and in many cases the last fight of their lives.

30 years ago I had the honour to jump into Holland, with some of those very same warriors, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Arnhem. This was one of the most humbling and exhilarating experiences of my life. Together with over 12,000 soldiers from across NATO, we parachuted onto the very same fields that our forebears had dropped into some 50 years earlier.

Upon landing, we got to meet many more of these hero's on the landing zone and in the following days. They shared stories and experiences of when they helped pull Europe out from the grip of Nazism.

On Saturday 8th June I will be carrying out the first of two anniversary parachute jumps to commemorate the Normandy and Arnhem airborne operations.

I will be making these jumps to raise money for the Royal British Legion and Trust Links charities respectively.

If you can, please donate to these causes using the link below. All donations, no matter how small, will go a long way in supporting the invaluable work that these charities carry out, in supporting veterans and their families and battling mental health issues respectively.

Thanks, Bayo

The money raised on my GoFundMe fundraiser will be transferred to my bank account, after which I will donate the funds to The Royal British Legion by bank transfer.