Rolls-Royce History: Charles Rolls
Charles Stewart Rolls (August 27, 1877 - July 12, 1910) was a tall man, standing 6'5" and become one half of the legendary Rolls-Royce partnership.
He was a son of the 1st Baron Llangattock. Educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, and early on developed a strong interest in engines. He owned his first car at 18 and his interest in automobiles and aeroplanes was to be his life's work.
His business acumen and financial backing complimented his partner Royce's engineering excellence to great effect.
Rolls was a pioneer aviator and a founding member of the Royal Aero Club in 1903 and was the second person in Britain to be licensed to fly.
In 1903 he won the Gordon Bennet Gold Medal for the longest single flight time.
In 1910, he became the first man to make a non-stop double crossing of the English Channel by plane.
Again in 1910, Rolls was killed in an air crash at Bournemouth, making him the first Briton to be killed in an aeronautical accident.
A statue in his memory, was erected in Agincourt Square, Monmouth.
Rolls retained a strong family connection with Monmouthshire, Wales where he is laid to rest.