BOB MONTGOMERY PAST IMPERFECTCharles Rolls was rich and a worthy partner to Henry Royce
CHARLES STEWART Rolls was born on August 27th, 1877, the third son of Lord and Lady Llangattock at Mayfair in London.
The man with whose name he would be forever remembered, Henry Royce, was then a 14-year-old telegraph boy in London. There is a story that Henry Royce delivered telegrams of congratulation to the Rolls family.
Born into such a wealthy background, the young Charles Rolls, in contrast to his future business partner, enjoyed every advantage in life, including an Eton education. It appears Rolls was not academically inclined, but it soon became apparent that he was mechanically-minded. In 1895, Rolls went to Trinity College, Cambridge, to study electricity and mechanics.
There, he raced a cycle for the college and developed a fascination with automobiles. Convinced he had to have one, and using a loan from his father, Rolls travelled to Paris in October 1896 and bought a second-hand Peugeot 33/4hp Phaeton. So, at the age of 19, Rolls became one of the small band of motor car owners in Britain and a pioneer of motoring.
Motor racing began soon after cars first found their way onto the roads of the Continent, and Rolls determined to be among this elite group of racing drivers. He raced first in France in 1899 and his successes began to make his name well known to the British public.
In Britain, he was involved with the Automobile Club and was a prime mover, with Claude Johnson, of the club's 1,000-mile Trial of 1900, a key event in the development of motoring in Britain.
In 1902, he went into business as a motor agent at Fulham, London, and opened a showroom at Brook Street. In 1903, he persuaded his friend Claude Johnson to join him - an event that in turn would lead to Johnson eventually becoming a key figure in Rolls-Royce.
A car crash in 1902 led to an increased interest in the sport of ballooning and, typically, Rolls threw himself enthusiastically into his new sport. On March 26th, 1904, his friend Henry Edmunds wrote to him with details of the first car produced by Henry Royce, and suggested that Rolls view it.
The result was an agreement that Charles Rolls & Company would take all the cars that Henry Royce could produce, an arrangement that would lead to the establishment of the Rolls-Royce Company.
It was a natural progression for Rolls to transfer his interest in aviation from balloons to heavier-than-air aircraft and he made his first flight in May 1909.
Rolls progressed rapidly and, in June 1910, made a remarkable non-stop flight across the English Channel and back.
On July 12th, 1910, Rolls brought his French-built Wright Flyer to the Bournemouth Aviation Meeting. On a trial flight, the Flyer crashed, killing him. All of Britain mourned the death of this pioneer aviator and motorist
Next week: Claude Johnson - the hyphen in Rolls-Royce