The man who invented bungee jumping said he didn’t test the rope before he did the first-ever jump; otherwise it wouldn’t have been dangerous.
David Kirke, who has died aged 78, was the guiding spirit of the Dangerous Sports Club, whose colourful exploits caused global scandal and delight in the 1980s.He was best known for having invented modern bungee jumping when early on the morning of April 1, 1979, he stepped off the parapet of the Clifton Suspension Bridge in the UK with a rope attached.
Some of the glamour of the DSC derived from the fact that its members were drawn from the upper echelons of British society – at least one was the son of a marquess – and they sent themselves up by dressing up for their antics in top hats and tailcoats while clutching champagne bottles. He was born David Anthony Potter on September 26, 1945, the eldest of seven children of Arnold Potter and Fraye St George Kirke. His mother Fraye was the scion of a distinguished military family.Arnold served in World War II but was also a member of the original Cambridge Night Climbers in the 1930s, a group which scaled roofs and chapel spires at the famous college, to the chagrin of authorities.
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