About - main - The Man Who Tested Parachutes

Early Life
Charles Agate was born in Redhill, Surrey in 1905. After attending Frenches School in Redhill he won a scholarship to Reigate Grammar School . It was this scholarship that enabled him to go to Goldsmiths College, join the RAF and to enjoy a thirty year career as a teacher.
His experiences at Reigate Grammar School shaped the man he was to become in terms of his politics, ethos and self image.
At School
This photograph depicts the 1918 intake of scholarship boys at Reigate Grammar School. Charles Agate is on the far right of the middle row,
Training to be a teacher
By the age of 16, Charles Agate had decided that he wanted to be a teacher and he won a place at Goldsmiths College, New Cross where he studied science. Everything on that course was focused on preparing teachers to manage a class of children, rather than being able to teach them. Not surprising really when classes could be up to 50 or 55 children.
The Strange Case of Frederick Deats
In 1934, Charles Agate rescued a young woman who had been abducted by a local man, Frederick Deats. He ran a garage and tearooms just down the road from Charles Agate's bungalow in Burgh Heath. Deats had been the prime suspect in a previous murder investigation.
Love & Marriage
Charles was the proud owner of a Norton Model 20 motorcycle; one of the fastest at the time. On a Saturday morning in 1934 he was going up to Crystal Palace Speedway when he crashed his Norton into a young lady who had just emerged from a hairdressers in Purley High Street. This lady was Marjorie Coles.
After a brief courtship, Charles and Marjorie were married and they bought what Agate later described as “a lovely little detached bungalow near Epsom, with no deposit.”
Agate's only close friend - Bernard "the Doc" Winfield
The photograph below depicts Charles Agate (left) with Dr Bernard James Oliver Winfield (right). Winfield was one of Agate's few true friends and played a fateful role in Agate's life.
Training the Troops
In addition to testing parachute equipment and techniques, Agate played a key role in the training of British and overseas troops and SOE agents. He was also made responsible for the balloon station and landing ground at Tatton Park.
This Pathe Newsreel from 1941 provides a fascinating insight into the training delivered by Charles Agate and his colleagues.
(NB the adverts at the start of this video are included in accordance with YouTube's licensing conditions).
Winston Churchill's visit to RAF Ringway
Shorthly after Agate's arrival at Ringway in 1941, Winston Churchill paid a visit to see the progress that was being made. This morale-boosting, staged footage was far removed from the reality.
(NB The adverts shown at the beginning of this video are included in accordance with YouTube's licensing conditions).
Extract from the R.A.F Ringway Log
This extract from the R.A.F. Ringway log refers to the ill-starred training course No.35 in late 1942 and Agate's role is reassuring the trainees. .
Bruce Williams & Harry Ward
Air Circus Showmen
When Agate arrived at RAF Ringway, the staff included a number of former members of Alan Cobham's Air Circus. Agate had attended one of their displays at Shoreham Aerodrome in 1935, little knowing that he was soon to join the ranks of these daredevils and mavericks.
These included Harry Ward, the "Yorkshire Birdman". Bruce Williams, a stunt parachutist with the rugged good looks of a matinee idol and Earl Bateman Fielden, the first Chief Flying Instructor at Ringway who was described as "an old gentleman incapable of giving an order".
Joins the RAF
As a secondary schoolteacher under the age of 40, Charles Agate was subject to conscription in 1940 and so he volunteered for the RAF. He was appointed to the RAF Volunteer Reserve (RAFVR) with hopes of becoming a pilot or an air gunner.
However, his background as a teacher marked him out for a ground-based training role. It was this disappointment that encouraged him to apply to volunteer to test parachutes at RAF Ringway.