Jacquie de Creed
Encyclopedia
Jacqueline Balmer was an English stuntwoman and presenter, and holder of the Long Distance Car Ramp Jump Record. During the 1980s she became famous in the United Kingdom for staging a series of spectacular car stunts. Along with her husband, de Creed was killed in an air crash while flying through dense fog en route from Italy to to the French town of Troyes
.
which had been specially adapted for the occasion. De Creed set the record for Long Distance Car Ramp Jump at 232 feet (70.7 m) having approached the jumping ramp at 140mph. This is a record which, according to the Sunday Mirror
, was unbeaten at the time of her death in 2011. However, the Guinness World Records website indicates that the record has been held by Travis Pastrana
since December 2009.
Her career was defined by a series of dramatic stunts. On one notable occasion while attempting to jump a line of vehicles, she fell short of the target, wrecking the car and almost killing herself. She later recalled in her biography that it was "probably the most spectacular car crash ever filmed from which the female driver lived to tell the tale". The Daily Telegraph reports that in a short biography on her website, de Creed is said to have been "one of only a few people in Britain" who could drive a car on its side, balanced on two wheels.
She also made television commercials for Bovril
and Heinz
and, according to to the Birmingham-based Sunday Mercury
newspaper, gave driving lessons to a number of television presenters before retiring in 2005 to become a drama teacher. According to BBC News
, she later worked as a presenter and became an after-dinner speaker. At the time of her death, de Creed was at work on an autobiography, entitled Close to the Edge, with her long term stunt partner Dick Sheppard.
(1000 CET
), for a flight from Lucca
, Italy, to Troyes
, France, following a holiday. Both were experienced pilots, and usually flew separately, but had decided on this occasion to travel together. Flying through an area enveloped by dense fog
, the plane, piloted by James Balmer, lost radar contact at 0928 UTC (1128 CET). A full scale search and rescue operation was launched shortly after midday local time after a resident reported a plane flying at "very low altitude". The wreckage of the aircraft – together with the bodies of the couple – was subsequently found on Mont Agel
, north of Monaco
later the same day at 1345 UTC. Their identities were established through mobile phone records.
, Gloucestershire
. The couple met while working on Disaster Squad. Together they had two daughters, Charlotte and Lucy.
Troyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
.
Career
She began her stunt-performing career in the 1970s, appearing on television on numerous occasions, including the BBC television series Disaster Squad, but she was to become a household name after getting into the Guinness Book of Records with a 1983 car ramp jump in a 1969 Ford MustangFord Mustang
The Ford Mustang is an automobile manufactured by the Ford Motor Company. It was initially based on the second generation North American Ford Falcon, a compact car. Introduced early on April 17, 1964, as a "1964½" model, the 1965 Mustang was the automaker's most successful launch since the Model A...
which had been specially adapted for the occasion. De Creed set the record for Long Distance Car Ramp Jump at 232 feet (70.7 m) having approached the jumping ramp at 140mph. This is a record which, according to the Sunday Mirror
Sunday Mirror
The Sunday Mirror is the Sunday sister paper of the Daily Mirror. It began life in 1915 as the Sunday Pictorial and was renamed the Sunday Mirror in 1963. Trinity Mirror also owns The People...
, was unbeaten at the time of her death in 2011. However, the Guinness World Records website indicates that the record has been held by Travis Pastrana
Travis Pastrana
Travis Alan Pastrana is an American motorsports competitor and stunt performer who has won championships and X Games gold medals in several events, including supercross, motocross, freestyle motocross, and rally racing. He runs a show called Nitro Circus with some of his friends...
since December 2009.
Her career was defined by a series of dramatic stunts. On one notable occasion while attempting to jump a line of vehicles, she fell short of the target, wrecking the car and almost killing herself. She later recalled in her biography that it was "probably the most spectacular car crash ever filmed from which the female driver lived to tell the tale". The Daily Telegraph reports that in a short biography on her website, de Creed is said to have been "one of only a few people in Britain" who could drive a car on its side, balanced on two wheels.
She also made television commercials for Bovril
Bovril
Bovril is the trademarked name of a thick, salty meat extract, developed in the 1870s by John Lawson Johnston and sold in a distinctive, bulbous jar. It is made in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, owned and distributed by Unilever UK....
and Heinz
Heinz
Heinz may refer to:People with the surname Heinz:*Drue Heinz, American arts patron*H. John Heinz III , U.S. senator from Pennsylvania*H. John Heinz IV , eldest son of Senator John Heinz...
and, according to to the Birmingham-based Sunday Mercury
Sunday Mercury
Sunday Mercury is a Sunday tabloid published in Birmingham, UK, and owned by Trinity Mirror.The first editor was John Turner Fearon , who left the Dublin-based Freeman's Journal to take up the position...
newspaper, gave driving lessons to a number of television presenters before retiring in 2005 to become a drama teacher. According to BBC News
BBC News
BBC News is the department of the British Broadcasting Corporation responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs. The department is the world's largest broadcast news organisation and generates about 120 hours of radio and television output each day, as well as online...
, she later worked as a presenter and became an after-dinner speaker. At the time of her death, de Creed was at work on an autobiography, entitled Close to the Edge, with her long term stunt partner Dick Sheppard.
Death
On the morning of 17 June 2011, de Creed and her husband, James Balmer, took off in their twin engine Piper PA-39 aircraft shortly after 0800 UTCCoordinated Universal Time
Coordinated Universal Time is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is one of several closely related successors to Greenwich Mean Time. Computer servers, online services and other entities that rely on having a universally accepted time use UTC for that purpose...
(1000 CET
Central European Time
Central European Time , used in most parts of the European Union, is a standard time that is 1 hour ahead of Coordinated Universal Time . The time offset from UTC can be written as +01:00...
), for a flight from Lucca
Lucca
Lucca is a city and comune in Tuscany, central Italy, situated on the river Serchio in a fertile plainnear the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Lucca...
, Italy, to Troyes
Troyes
Troyes is a commune and the capital of the Aube department in north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about southeast of Paris. Many half-timbered houses survive in the old town...
, France, following a holiday. Both were experienced pilots, and usually flew separately, but had decided on this occasion to travel together. Flying through an area enveloped by dense fog
Fog
Fog is a collection of water droplets or ice crystals suspended in the air at or near the Earth's surface. While fog is a type of stratus cloud, the term "fog" is typically distinguished from the more generic term "cloud" in that fog is low-lying, and the moisture in the fog is often generated...
, the plane, piloted by James Balmer, lost radar contact at 0928 UTC (1128 CET). A full scale search and rescue operation was launched shortly after midday local time after a resident reported a plane flying at "very low altitude". The wreckage of the aircraft – together with the bodies of the couple – was subsequently found on Mont Agel
Mont Agel
Mont Agel is a mountain located on the border between France and Monaco. The culminant point of this mount, at above sea level, is situated on the French side, but the highest point of Monaco, a pathway named Chemin des Révoires, is situated on its slopes, at an altitude of 161 metres...
, north of Monaco
Monaco
Monaco , officially the Principality of Monaco , is a sovereign city state on the French Riviera. It is bordered on three sides by its neighbour, France, and its centre is about from Italy. Its area is with a population of 35,986 as of 2011 and is the most densely populated country in the...
later the same day at 1345 UTC. Their identities were established through mobile phone records.
Personal life
Jacquie de Creed was married to James Balmer, a former rally driver and BBC stunt director who owned a menswear shop, and lived in CirencesterCirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
, Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
. The couple met while working on Disaster Squad. Together they had two daughters, Charlotte and Lucy.