a grandfather with his four grandsons
Don Thomas with his grandsons in Tenby about six years ago- Trystan (top left) and bottom row (left to right) Hari, Alec (Hari's brother) and Caden (Trystan's brother) Credit: Trystan Hughes and Harri Rhodes

Two Cwmbran teenagers are doing a skydive in memory of their grandfather and to raise money for the charity that supported him.

Trystan Hughes and Harri Rhodes will be leaping out of plane 15,000ft in the air on 9 June in memory of Don Thomas, who passed away on 15 February 2024 of lung cancer.

Trystan and Harri chose that date for their fundraising challenge as it’s the day of their grandfather’s birthday.

Don Thomas, 70, was described by Trystan and Harri as being “intelligent, thoughtful, generous and always willing to give advice on future schooling and general life”.

The pair have set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for MacMillan Cancer Support.

Both of them are excited for the skydive but equally nervous. Trystan, a Coleg Gwent student. said he’s terrified of heights. Harri, a student at St Alban’s RC School, said he was looking forward to seeing the view from the plane at 15,000ft.

Harri added that his friends are “flabbergasted” that he would willingly drop out of a plane into free fall.

The two cousins have been told by their family and friends that their grandfather would be proud of them.

Sponsor Trystan and Harri

To donate to their fundraiser visit their GoFundMe page.