The times and democrat. [volume] (Orangeburg, S.C.) 1881-current, 1910-07-14
AWFUL TRAGEDY
Wright B;plane Buekled Uader Him One
Hundred Feet in Air.
HE FALLS TO HIS DEATH

premeir among Flower Of British
Aristocratic Sportsman Charles 'l,a 'ess
stewart Rolls, Who Flew Across
Channel and Back Without a Stop
Crushed to Death at Feet of Ad.
:. .,niring Thousands. &
At Bournemouth, Eng. the first
flying tournament .,of the year was
broug,t.. to tragic close Tuesday
morning by the dramatic death OF
aviator, the Hon. Charles S. Rolls
third son OF Lord Llangattock.
In the presence of great compa-
ny of spectators, majority OF whom
were ladies and children and many
personal friends Of the young ayi-
ator. the Wright biplane on when men
he was flying fell suddenly with ter
rifle speed from a height OF IVY Ivy
feet. It struck the ground close
to the crowded grandstand, smashed
into a tangled mass and before the
doctors and their assistants could
reach the spot Rolls was dead. rs.
The event in which Rolls was COM
netting was for prize for the avia-
tor alighting nearestaa2 given marx.
The goal was directly in front OF tne te
grand; ::st and where the spectators
vere1amassed. He. had risen to a
good height and then shut OF ms ms
motor aand$wss gliding In a broao e.
circle: to The mark; ~ 3. S VI
without warning the tail piece
Of the biplane snapped of. The ma
chine gaye-a sudden .lurch' andrthe ne
framework-crumpled up in the air.
When it struck the: sroud it was
. smashed ,Busht to splinters. The doctors
found that Rolls had sustained a
fractured skull. The wreck otithe
machine and twisted stays surround;
esd7the body so that. there was GU dim I,
Guilty in eXtricating him.
Imedtately after the result OF: OF
Rolls accident was known, the com
mittee announced that flying Woulo
be suspended for. the day. y
Cart. The Hon. Charles Stewart
Rolls was thirty three years old .slll1 and
was one of the most popular young
all around English sportsman. HIS
death will be a great blow to arlsto,
cratic sporting enthusiasts, Win. az
Of whom he was a great faVorlte.
Al ballooning, motoring and later in
the field of aviation he had dlstln-
suished himself by his utter fear
lessness and was satisfied with moth
ing short Of record breaking IN
whatever line of sport he took to.
Undoubtedly his crowning feat
was his round trip across the chan
mel between Dover and Calais III
his Wright. biplane on June 2 last.
Two Frenchmen, Louis Bleriot and
Count de Lesseps, already had cross
cd the channel and Hubert Latham
had almost succeeded. Channel
flying was at discount in England
: because it was considered an OLD
story and because national prloe
had suffered from the monopoly OF
It by Frenchmen, when Rolls cleo
triled the entire Kingdom by doub-
ling the accomplishments OF MS
nredecessors. The distance between
Dover and Calais is 81 miles and
when Rolls did the round trip OF
AZ miles in 80 minutes without
stopping his performance was mar
yelous both for distance ana time.
In his youth Rolls was one OF the
.pioneers in motoring in England.
He drove q motor car about while
the ordinance was still in force that
every self propelled vehicle on the
public roads must be proceeded by a
man carrying a red flag to warn
nedestrians. In 1900 he won the
gold medal in the thousand miles
automobile race He was the rep
resentatiye of Great Britain IN the
Gordan Bennett race in 1905 ad sew
eral times made worlds records TOR
speed. AS a balloonist Rolls had
more than $50 ascensions and had
crossed the channel several times IN
balloons.