Parachutist killed in film stunt

[Jackdaw]

At the turn of the fifties and sixties, my school employed one Mike Reilly as a temporary P.E. master.

We were told that he held a record for free-fall parachute jumping, and assumed that he was a military man.

He turned out to be a lovely, friendly bloke with a very posh accent, and was excellent at motivating us lads and making us feel he was interested in us as people.

He left when we found a permanent teacher and the next we heard was that he had been killed filming a parachute stunt.

I have seen the film in question, which I would guess was made in the early sixties, and IIRC, Mike parachutes into the sea in the opening scenes or credits and the scene ends.

In fact, he did not survive the stunt, but the footage was kept in as a mark of respect and there was a tribute in the end credits.

Can any one remember this film, please?

[Euryale]

name='Jackdaw']At the turn of the fifties and sixties, my school employed one Mike Reilly as a temporary P.E. master.

We were told that he held a record for free-fall parachute jumping, and assumed that he was a military man.

He turned out to be a lovely, friendly bloke with a very posh accent, and was excellent at motivating us lads and making us feel he was interested in us as people.

He left when we found a permanent teacher and the next we heard was that he had been killed filming a parachute stunt.

I have seen the film in question, which I would guess was made in the early sixties, and IIRC, Mike parachutes into the sea in the opening scenes or credits and the scene ends.

In fact, he did not survive the stunt, but the footage was kept in as a mark of respect and there was a tribute in the end credits.

Can any one remember this film, please?

It was The War Lover (1962), starring Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner.





Euryale.

[Euryale]

name='Euryale']It was The War Lover (1962), starring Steve McQueen and Robert Wagner.





Euryale.

The accident happened on 10th January, 1962, when Mr. Reilly was performing the parachute jump off the coast of Newhaven, East Sussex.



Pilot and stuntman Paul Mantz also worked on this film. He would later be killed while making The Flight of the Phoenix.





Euryale.

[Pricey]

Jackdaw may wish to check out Frank Muir's autobiography "A Kentish Lad" as in WWII FM was responsible for filming all parachute training jumps so the reasons for parachute failures could be analysed and corrected. There is a whole interesting section on this in the book. It's generally a very good read anyway.

[Euryale]

name='Euryale']The accident happened on 10th January, 1962, when Mr. Reilly was performing the parachute jump off the coast of Newhaven, East Sussex.



Pilot and stuntman Paul Mantz also worked on this film. He would later be killed while making The Flight of the Phoenix.





Euryale.

Mike Reilly was just 29 when this happened and was acting as stunt-double for Robert Wagner. Mike had written a book on the history of parachuting, entitled Alone in the Sky. It is available at Abebooks and here is a couple of the blurbs from there:



'This two part history of parachutes and parachuting appeared after the death of the author in an accident. He was British Parachute Association chairman and wrote on the development of this aerial lifebelt and the advent of competive parachuting.'



and



'Part I of this book is a history of parachuting from its halting origins, through the great contributions of Irvin and military parachuting to Leo Valentin, "Dumbo" Willans and modern competitive sport parachuting in Britain, France, Russia and America. Part II describes types of parachutes, the technique of parachuting, training programmes, and provides useful hints for competition jumping. No one has contributed more to the success of parachuting as a sport in Britain than the author and the book ends with some personal experiences both grave and gay. Shortly after finishing this book he was killed in a parachuting accident caused by a rare combination of circumstances.'





A tragic loss of life for such a young and talented man.





Euryale.

[Jackdaw]

Thanks very much for your replies, gentlemen.

[Euryale]

name='Jackdaw']Thanks very much for your replies, gentlemen.

You're welcome, but, oh dear, I am a lady!





Euryale.

[Jackdaw]

name='Euryale']You're welcome, but, oh dear, I am a lady!





Euryale.

Oops!

Sorry, I couldn't see you properly in this light!