Beowulf McCloud founded his famous Skydiving and Recreational Club in 1924.

Born the ginger son of a blonde Scottish Methodist minister and a German Countess,  McCloud had been detailed to an observation balloon unit in the German army during the first world war, and had the misfortune to be shot down 42 times by the time the conflict ended.  Reputedly at least once by renown aviator and author Captain W.E. Johns.

Unlike the Royal Flying Corps the German army aviators were equipped with parachutes, so during the four years of war, he became probably the most accomplished parachutist of his generation.  Some time in the early spring of 1917 his parachute failed to open.  Fortunately due to a combination of low altitude, efficient protective clothing and a soft landing he survived, but there can be no doubt that this experience had a lasting effect on his life.  For the last 18 months of the war his co-aviators began to shun him as a jinx and as a fated man who would experiment with delaying opening his parachute until later and later in his fall.

After the armistice was signed he moved back to his native Brest.  unsuited for work and with his maternal grandfather’s not inconsiderable inheritance Beowulf McCloud drifted into the society of upper class Freemasons and magicians who would inform Adolf Hitler’s fruitless pursuit of the Spear of Longinus.

With this money he could continue his experiments in falling and the alchemical vision of his new compatriots provided him with a new philosophical vision for his work.  On the 23rd of July 1925 he had a serious accident causing a head injury that resulted in synaesthesia, the peculiar derangement of the senses where sounds may be seen or colours heard.

From this point on McCloud’s talk barely wavered from the celestial bells he could hear during his falls, the celestial music that plays in your head WHEN DEATH IS IMMINENT.  After the accident his experiments continued in their recklessness. He became unsatisfied with his own human nature, what he called the weakness of self preservation. During June 1926 his diary records that although he was too fearful to leave his tethered balloon without a parachute he had decided he could temper this by interfering with the safe functioning of his harness.

The entries for the next few jumps confirmed that “the clarity and duration of these celestial bells, is increasing, I feel that I am on the verge of some new perfect music.”

His last diary entry is for the 3rd of July 1926.  “My friends shun me, they can no longer bear to look at me when I pass them on the narrow lane to the airfield. I have made some further modifications to my harness design and I feel that tomorrow promises great things”

On the 5th of July Beowulf McCloud died from the horrific injuries he sustained in his fall the previous day.  He never gained consciousness, and so never passed on any information about the sounds he may have heard.

Initially the Police treated his death as murder, not believing that anyone would tamper quite so dangerously with their own parachute equipment. But after interrogating his friends and acquaintances, they were still no wiser. The investigating officers inspected his shabby and eccentric dwelling, they were rumored to have found strange electrical contraptions, often incorporating medical equipment deemed cutting edge at that time. It is now believed he was working on a recording device that could be inserted into the inner ear allowing the user to ‘record’ the audio data being processed by the brain. Some believe McCloud had finished the device and had in fact made basic recordings of the ‘perfect music’ he had reported experiencing during his near-death experiences. Eventually his hidden diaries were found and the Coroner could bring in a verdict of death by suicide.

The Skydiving and Recreational Club closed its offices, its membership lists were burnt and to all appearences its activities ended that summer.....