Remembering Derbyshire’s treasured Jack Reynolds, a year after he died aged 108

Jack, 108, died surrounded by family at his Hollingwood home on April 25, 2020.

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One of the UK’s oldest men, the great-great grandfather was well-known for his remarkable fundraising antics – and made headlines not just at home but right across the globe.

On April 6, what would have been Jack’s 109th birthday, a pathway called Jack Reynolds Way was unveiled in Hollingwood as a lasting tribute to him.

Remembering Jack and reflecting on the last year, his daughter Jayne Goodwin, of Brimington Common, told the Derbyshire Times: “It’s been very hard without him but his memory lives on especially with Jack Reynolds Way.

“My life has a void which my dad filled but I try to keep positive as he would have wanted.

“I keep his Facebook page, Jack The Lad, alive with memories, photos and videos.

“There’s not a day goes by when he’s not in my thoughts.

“He was a wonderful man who was loved by all – and I’ll do my best to keep his memory alive as long as I’m able.

“He’ll always be my star,” she added.

Jack captured hearts when he completed the charity ice bucket challenge dressed in nothing but a pair of Union Jack boxer shorts aged 102.

He went on to raise many thousands of pounds for several different charities with various challenges – and notched up four Guinness World Records.

Aged 104, he became the planet’s oldest person to get a tattoo – this was, of course, his nickname ‘Jacko’ – and a year later he was declared the oldest person to ride a rollercoaster when he enjoyed a day out at Flamingo Land.

At the age of 106 he achieved the title of the world’s oldest person to ride a zip wire – a 60-metre-high, 400-metre-long challenge at Go Ape which was broadcast live on breakfast TV – and he became the oldest person to be a supporting artist in a TV show at 107 when he appeared on the Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks.

He was described in national media as ‘Britain’s oldest daredevil’.

Jack was still fundraising right up to the end.

For his 108th birthday, he raised more than £1,600 on an online JustGiving page for Derbyshire charity Helen’s Trust, which had been helping to care for him at his home in recent weeks.

Jack was born on April 6, 1912, just days before the Titanic sank when it hit an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean.

At the age of 14, he left school to become a butcher’s boy and from there went on to work as a foreman platelayer at the steelworks in Staveley. He worked there for 40 years before retiring in 1975.

He was also in the Territorial Army.

Jack married his wife Kathleen in 1939 and they had four children together.

His obituary states that he built a sun house in his 90s!

RIP Jack – you will never be forgotten.

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