GC42HEV Bournemouth's Past: Charles Rolls (Traditional Cache) in Southern England, United Kingdom created by Lost2011

This cache has been archived.

Lost2011: I collected this one tonight whilst I was in the area. I almost kept this one going live, particularly as it has had 5 favourite points, however, I always remember coming out to this due to it getting removed 2 or 3 times from the green box and then I, along with others, thought it had gone from the tree, only for 2 caches to be found for some time before I took one away. lol.

This series has had a great 18 months but now it is time to archive. Thanks for all the finds. If you haven't already, enjoy the Bournemouth History series, which will also be archived in 2015.

GC42HEV ▼

A cache by Lost2011 Message this owner

Hidden : 12/21/2012

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

This is my town. I live here. I love it.

This series of 10 stand alone caches, with a bonus at the end, will take you on a journey through Bournemouth, visiting a mix of urban and residential areas, and hopefully learning a little bit of history along the way. For the most part I have tried to make the caches accessible to all.

I have been inspired to set these caches around Bournemouth for some caching friends who are in need of filling their calendar, whilst also finding areas that are sparse of caches. Although the idea of stand alone caches with a bonus is not original, for this area it is very uncommon spread across large distances of the town, and therefore I would like to think this is a little bit different, which is what I'm all about.

Each cache has a number needed to locate the bonus, so you may wish to make notes as you go along.

Due to the urban nature of this series and the high probability of muggles, I have tried to make all the caches easy to find by providing detail in the hints, so please use the spoiler.

On 12 July 1910, at the age of 32, Charles Rolls took off in his Wright Flyer for a demonstration flight, but as he came into land something went terribly wrong. Some commentaries speak of Rolls stalling the machine, others indicate there was a mechanical failure with part of the tail falling off. Either way, the machine fell to the ground from about 100 feet. Charles Rolls was mortally wounded with "Severe Concussion" and died in the wreckage, before medical assistance arrived.

View across the aerodrome with the crashed aircraft in the foreground

Charles Rolls was the first person in Britain to die in an aircraft accident and the 12th in the world. A memorial to Rolls was erected in what is now the rear playing field at St Peters School. After his death, the firm of the famous car manufacturers Rolls was associated to, went onto ever greater things, but without his early entrepreneurial guidance and flair it is doubtful whether the firm would have been such a success.

A statue in his memory, in which he is seen holding a biplane model, was erected in Agincourt Square, Monmouth. A further memorial to him is situated in the bottom playing field of St Peter's School (see reference point), which was built on the site of Hengistbury Airfield.
Please note there is no public access to view the memorial.

The current memorial plaque

The inscription on the face of the original stone reads:
This stone commemorates the Hon Charles Stewart Rolls who was killed in a flying accident near this spot on the 12th July 1910 the first Briton to die in powered flight.

The inscription around the bevel edge reads:
A pioneer motorist and co-founder of [car company], a balloonist and aviator. The first man to make a double crossing of the English Channel by air.

The new base reads: This memorial was refurbished by [car company] 12th July 2010 to commemorate the centenary of the death of The Hon Charles Stewart Rolls.

Map of the Aerodrome

Hengistbury Airfield never really picked up. It was finally abandoned in the 1920's due to the popularity of the larger and more practical Christchurch Airfield which was just outside Christchurch, sandwiched between Stanpit and Somerford. Christchurch Airfield was closed in the 1960's. The main airport now is Hurn (now called Bournemouth International Airport) which came into existence in the 1930's.

Hengistbury has since been heavily built upon, with the exception of the Head itself, which has since been dedicated a Special Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI). One road has been named in Charles' memory, Rolls Drive, which is the location of this cache.
Source

Congratulations the77club for FTF.

Bournemouth's Past series:
GC42HER: Robert Baden-Powell (A)
GC42HET: Flora Thompson (B)
GC42HEV: Charles Rolls (C)
GC42HEW: Bessie Bicknell (D)
GC42HEX: Jack The Ripper (E)
GC42HEY: Moordown's Oldest House (F)
GC42HEZ: Hancock's Half Hour (G)
GC42HF0: Peter's Hill Fire Station (H)
GC42HF1: William Smith (J)
GC42HF2: Jon Egging (K)
GC42HF3: Bonus - N50 AB.CDE W001. FG.HJK

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

N svyz pnavfgre ybpngrq va gur pebja bs gur ybar gerr gb gur fvqr bs gur ebnq fvta.

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)

This cache has been archived.

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Bournemouth's Past: Charles Rolls Traditional Geocache

This cache has been archived.

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Geocache Description:

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