Charles Rolls facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Charles Rolls
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Charles Stewart Rolls
27 August 1877 Berkeley Square, London, England
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| Died | 12 July 1910 (aged 32) Southbourne, Bournemouth, England
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| Cause of death | Air accident |
| Education | Eton College |
| Alma mater | Trinity College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Motor car promoter and aviator |
| Known for | Co-founder, Rolls-Royce |
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Charles Stewart Rolls (born August 27, 1877 – died July 12, 1910) was a British pioneer in cars and airplanes. He helped start the famous Rolls-Royce car company with Henry Royce. Charles Rolls was also the first British person to die in a powered airplane crash. This happened when he was only 32 years old during a flying show in Bournemouth.
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Early Life and Love for Engines
Charles Rolls was born in London, England. He was the third son of the first Baron Llangattock. Even though he was born in London, he always felt a strong connection to his family's home in The Hendre, near Monmouth, Wales.
He went to Eton College, a famous school. There, he became very interested in engines. His friends even nicknamed him "dirty Rolls" because of this!
In 1894, Charles went to a special school to prepare for university. In 1895, he started studying mechanical and applied science at Trinity College, Cambridge.
First Car and Driving Passion
At just 18 years old, in 1896, Charles traveled to Paris to buy his first car. It was a Peugeot Phaeton. He also joined the Automobile Club of France. His Peugeot was likely the first car in Cambridge. It was also one of the first three cars ever owned in Wales!
Charles was a very early fan of cars. He joined groups that wanted to make driving easier. He also helped start the Royal Automobile Club, which is still famous today.
He loved cycling too and raced bikes at Cambridge. In 1896, he won a special award for cycling. The next year, he became the captain of the Cambridge University Bicycle Club.
After graduating in 1898, Charles worked on a steam yacht and then for a railway company. But his real talent was in selling and promoting cars. In 1903, he opened one of Britain's first car dealerships. His company, C. S. Rolls & Co., sold French Peugeot and Belgian Minerva cars.
Partnership with Henry Royce
Charles Rolls met Henry Royce through a friend in 1904. This meeting happened at the Midland Hotel in Manchester. Charles was very impressed with Royce's two-cylinder car.
On December 23, 1904, they made an agreement. Rolls would sell all the cars Royce could build. These cars would have two, three, four, or six cylinders. They would all be called "Rolls-Royces."
The very first Rolls-Royce car was shown in Paris in December 1904. In 1906, Rolls and Royce officially formed their company, Rolls-Royce Limited. Charles became the Technical Managing Director.
Charles brought money and business skills to the partnership. Henry Royce provided his amazing technical knowledge. Charles worked hard to show how quiet and smooth Rolls-Royce cars were. By 1907, the company was winning awards for its high-quality cars.
By 1909, Charles's interest in the car business started to fade. He wanted to focus more on flying. He stepped down from his role but stayed on the company's board.
Pioneer Aviator
Charles Rolls was a true pioneer in aviation. Before planes, he loved hot air balloons. He made over 170 balloon flights! In 1903, he won a special medal for the longest single flight.
Around 1907, Charles became very interested in flying machines. He even tried to convince Henry Royce to design an airplane engine.
He became the second British person to fly in an airplane. This happened on October 8, 1908, with Wilbur Wright as the pilot. Their flight lasted just over four minutes.
Charles bought one of the early Wright Flyer airplanes. He made more than 200 flights in it starting in late 1909. He also helped found the Royal Aero Club. In March 1910, he became the second person to get a pilot's license from them.
First English Channel Double Crossing
On June 2, 1910, Charles Rolls made history. He became the first person to fly across the English Channel and back without stopping. This amazing flight took him 95 minutes. For this achievement, he received the Gold Medal of the Royal Aero Club.
There are statues in Monmouth and Dover that remember this incredible flight.
Tragic End
Sadly, on July 12, 1910, Charles Rolls died in an airplane crash. He was only 32 years old. The accident happened at Hengistbury Airfield in Southbourne, Bournemouth. The tail of his Wright Flyer broke off during a flying show.
He was the first British person to die in a powered airplane accident. He was also the first person to die in a powered aviation accident in the United Kingdom.
Charles Rolls is buried in the churchyard of St Cadoc's Church in Wales. Many members of the Rolls family are buried there. His grave has a special message: "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God."
There is a statue of him in Agincourt Square, Monmouth. It shows him holding a model of a biplane. Another memorial was put up in 1981 at a school in Bournemouth, on the site of the old airfield. There is also a stained-glass window in a church in Eastchurch that remembers both Rolls and another early aviator, Cecil Grace.
A new memorial to Charles Rolls was dedicated on July 12, 2022. It is located at Hengistbury Head in Southbourne, Dorset. This date and time matched the exact moment of his crash in 1910.
Cultural Depictions
- The actor Robert Powell played Charles Rolls in the TV series The Edwardians in 1972–1973.
Images for kids
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Statue of Charles Rolls in Dover
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Rolls family graves, Llangattock-Vibon-Avel, Monmouthshire
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Charles Rolls (centre), 1910
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Memorial window by Karl Parsons at Eastchurch, Kent
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Memorial to Charles Rolls at Hengistbury Head, Southbourne, Dorset
