Born 35 Hill Street, W1, son of Lord Llangattock, John Rolls. A keen racing cyclist, he became the fourth man in England to own a car, took to racing cars and repeatedly broke the land speed record. Met Henry Royce in May 1904 and together they began manufacturing cars, the first being the Grey Ghost. He was a keep-fit enthusiast, sports-player, teetotal and vegetarian. Frequent balloonist. One of the first to fly with Wright, the aeroplane inventor, and the first to fly an aeroplane non-stop across the English Channel and back. He left Rolls-Royce in 1910 over disagreements about the manufacture of aircraft. Died at Bournemouth, aged 32, in a flying accident, the first Englishman so to die. There is a statue at the site.
This section lists the memorials where the subject on this page is commemorated:
Charles Rolls
Commemorated ati
Charles Rolls
English Heritage Charles Rolls, 1877 - 1910, pioneer of motoring and aviation...
Other Subjects
Royal Flying Corps
The potential for aircraft was recognised and so the Royal Flying Corps was established by a charter signed by King George V on 13 April 1912. Â the first 'wing' (ho ho) was formed out of the Air Ba...
2 memorials
WW2 aircraft crash
The story of this crash is very well told at Their Last Night.  Here we give a brief summary. The plane was a a Mark 5 Halifax No DK 253 of 427 Squadron based at Leeming, Yorkshire.  It was one o...
1 memorial
1 memorial
Robert Hollond
Balloonist and politician. Born London to a wealthy Bengal civil servant. Financed the 1836 balloon voyage from Vauxhall Gardens to Weilburg in Germany, on which he was a passenger. This set a reco...
1 memorial
Alliott Verdon Roe
Aircraft designer and manufacturer. Born Edwin Alliott Verdon Roe at Patricroft, Manchester. He was inspired by the Wright brothers to devote himself to powered flight. In 1907 he built a biplane a...
3 memorials
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