Plymouth grandad taking on terrifying task for sweet reason

A dare-devil great grandad who is afraid of heights will mark his 85th birthday by skydiving 15,000ft in aid of a Plymouth animal sanctuary.

Roger Marshall, from Plympton, plans to launch himself from a plane at Dunkeswell Airfield in Honiton to raise money for Woodside Animal Welfare Sanctuary at Elfordleigh.

Roger, whose nickname is 'Mad Max' has undergone two hip replacements and is terrified of heights – even afraid to walk across the Tamar Bridge. But the brave grandad is determined this won’t stop him when he heads out onto the runway on November 10, a day after his 85th birthday.

Thirty years ago, animal-lover Roger completed a half marathon in aid of Woodside, raising hundreds of pounds for abandoned and unwanted animals. Now unable to run or walk very far, the Plymouth grandad decided a skydive was the next best option.

Roger said: “I have been thinking about it for a while and thought ‘what can I do to raise money for Woodside?’ I can’t do another half marathon, I can’t run like I used to and I can’t walk any distance. Suddenly it came to me – I thought ‘I could skydive!’

“Mad Max is a name I was given when I attended Secondary Modern School in Plympton. My friends call me that. I’ll be 85 next month and nobody knows what’s around the corner, so I wanted to do something now for the animals.

“Growing up, my mum always had cats and so I grew up around them. I just prefer animals to humans!”

Roger, who recently celebrated his 58th Wedding Anniversary with wife, Viv will be joined on the ground by Viv; their daughter, Debbie; her partner, Shaun and grandchildren, Laura and Elliott. Grandsons Elliott and Scott previously did a skydive at Dunkeswell. And it was watching them that inspired Roger to take on the challenge.

Daughter Debbie said: “He’s lovely, an absolute gem. He’ll do anything for anyone, but he’ll do more for animals. He’s a massive animal lover. He did a half marathon for Woodside when he was 56. This year he said, ‘I don’t think I’ll have anything for me birthday, I think I’ll do a skydive!’ Mum realised she wasn’t going to stop him and said, ‘if that’s what you want to do.’

“He doesn’t like heights, but he wants to raise money for the animals. He’ll probably be white as a sheet on the day, but I know he’ll do it. I guess you can only have so many bottles of Whiskey!”

Roger and Viv, who have given a home to several cats over the years and now have a cockateel called Oli, have six grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Roger’s an avid Plymouth Argyle supporter and hopes to organise a bucket collection at Home Park to boost his fundraising total.

Roger said: “Viv is going to pay for the skydive for my birthday so that every penny raised will go to Woodside. I’m feeling fine about the skydive. I’m not a great lover of heights but I’ll have someone strapped to me.”

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