The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1910-07-15
AVIATOR IS KILLED.
HERO OF RECENT ENGLISH
CHANNEL FLIGHT FALLS TO
EARTH IN BlPLANE.
HAD CAREER OF DARING FEATS
England's First Flying Tournament of
Year Brought to Tragic Close
Accident Seen by Huge
Crowd of People.

BOurnomOuCn, England. - Inc HrSt
| flying tournament of the year in
England was brought to a tragic close
by the dramatic death of the most
| daring and popular British aviator,
the Hon. Charles S. Rolls, I'LL, son of
| Lord Llangattock.
In the presence of great company
of spectators majority of whom were
women and children and many person
al friends of the aviator, the Wright
| biplane on which he was flying, fell
| suddenly with terrific speed from a
height of 100 feet. 1t struck the
ground close to the crowded grand.
stand, smashed into tangled mass,
! and before the doctors and their as.
sociates could reach the spot Rolls
| was dead.
| He Was Competing for Prize.
Audemars, the Swiss aviator, had
close shave while making a trial
| flight above the Bournemouth field.
His monoplane overturned and de.
scended swiftly to the ground but he
escaped without injury.
The event in which Rolls was com.
peting was for prize for the aviator
alighting nearest a given mark.
| The goal was directly in front of
| the grandstand, where the spectators
were massed. He had risen to good
height, then shut off his motor and
was gliding in broad circle toward
the mark.
Without warning the tail piece of
the biplane snapped off.
The machine gave a sudden lurch
and the framework crumpled up in
the air.
I When it struck the ground it was
smashed to splinters.
The doctors found that Rolls had
sustained fractured skull.
| The wreck of the machine and twist
ed stays surrounded the body so that
there was difficulty in extricating him
Immediately after the result of
Rolls accident was known the com
mittee announced that flying would be
suspended for the day.
| Charles Stewart Rolls was 33 years
old and was one of the most popular
young allaround sportsmen in Eng
land. His death will be great blow
to aristocratic sporting enthusiasts.
with all of whom he was a great per-
sonal favorite. At ballooning, at mo-
toring he had distinguished himself by
his utter fearlessness and was salts
| fed with nothing short of record
breaking in whatever line of sport he
took too. Undoubtedly his browning
feat was his round trip across the
channel between Dover and Calais in
a Wright biplane, June 1 last. The
two Frenchmen, Louis Bleriot and
Count de Lesseps, already had crossed
| the channel, and Hubert Latham had
almost succeeded. Channel flying was
at discount in England because it
was considered an old story and also
because the national pride suffered
from the monopoly of it by French
men when Rolls electrified the entire
kingdom by doubling the accomplish
ments of his predecessors.
| The distance between Dover and
Calais is q miles, and when Rolls did
the round trip of AZ miles in 80 min.
utes without stopping, his performance
was a marvellous one both for dis
lance and time. Rolls was as modest
as he was daring and received the
congratulations which were showered
upon him after his great feat almost
with embarrassment.
| In his youth Rolls was one of the
pioneers of motoring in England. He
drove motor car about while the Or
dinance was still in force that every
self-propelled vehicle on the public
roads must be preceded by man car
rying red flag to warn pedestrians
| Since 1896 he has been one of the best
known motor experts in Europe. In
1900 he won the gold medal in the
thousand mile automobile race He
was the representative of Great Brit
ain in the Gordon Bennett race OF
1905, and several times made worlds
| records for speed.