“I felt that having been given this opportunity, it would be a good idea to raise some money for Meningitis Now. I'm so pleased to have raised money for their great cause and know it will make a real difference.”
Josie is a retired nurse who has never shied away from adventure, having helped build a school in Cambodia last year and travelled the Silk Road through Uzbekistan in 2022.
Wing walking, the act of moving along the wings of a plane while in the air, is a feat people have been taking part in since planes were invented. It featured in the classic film Flying Down to Rio, with Fred Astaire, a film that inspired Josie to one day try it herself.
So in August, Josie stood on the wings of a 1940’s Boeing Stearman bi-plane and flew around the countryside – all to raise money for Meningitis Now.
She took off from RFC Rendcomb Airfield which is home to the world’s only aerobatic wing walking team, Aerosuperbatics. Lead display pilot, David Barrell, took Josie up 800ft in the air as they travelled at an incredible 140mph.
Her family and friends were all there to watch, including her daughter Sarah who is the Partnership Manager for Meningitis Now.
Thank you to Rangeford Villages, who own Siddington Park where Josie lives, for funding the wing walk and sponsoring Josie. This was done as part of Rangeford Villages’ "Retirement Reinvented" campaign, investing money in exciting experiences.
Josie says:
“The wing walk was an amazing experience – not something I had even thought about before being offered the experience by Rangeford Villages. Just being up there like a bird, outside the plane instead of inside and seeing the patchwork countryside below was spectacular. But cold, very cold!
“I felt that having been given this opportunity, it would be a good idea to raise some money for a charity. I had learned about Meningitis Now’s ongoing efforts to support those affected by meningitis and why their life-saving research so important. I'm so pleased to have raised money for this great cause and know it will make a real difference to Meningitis Now's work.”
If you’d like to donate to Josie’s JustGiving page you can do so here.
And if you are interested in taking part in a wing walk of your own you can find out more information by getting in touch with the fundraising team via email: fundraising@meningitisnow.org
For more information on ways to fundraising you can check out our website.
