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When the 'Chute Went Up

When the 'Chute Went Up

Ref: 4948

In stock

Price: £23.00

sadly, flyingbooks is now closed.

{detailed description}After thirty minutes' training and for a fee of £2-10s, the seventeen-year-old Dolly Shepherd made her first jump 2,000 feet through the air from a gas-filled balloon. In 1904 she was one of the most popular of the exclusive, daredevil band of parachutists who thrilled crowds at London's Alexandra Palace and throughout Britain, at a time when no aeroplane had yet flown in Europe. For eight years Dolly toured the country, hooked on the excitement of sailing through the air, the adulation of the crowds, and the VIP treatment afforded to such a remarkable young woman.
Her courage and daring were unbounded and her indomitable high spirits pulled her back to parachuting even after sustaining serious injuries while effecting an historic first ever mid-air rescue. She chose to end her career after an ethereal 'voice' warned her not to jump again.
In this engaging book Dolly tells her own extraordinary story and gives a compelling reconstruction of the atmosphere of those pioneering, reckless days. She tells too of her association with some of the leading aeronauts of the period, such as the dynamic and congenial Samuel Franklin Cody, and the dapper Frenchman Auguste Gaudron who led the team of parachutists to which she belonged.
Dolly Shepherd died two months short of her 97th birthday, within a few days of putting the finishing touches to her story.

***signed and inscribed by Molly Sedgwick, Dolly Shepherd's daughter and co-author***
{Author / Publisher / Date}by Dolly Shepherd, Peter Hearn and Molly Sedgwick
published by Skyline Publishing 1996 2nd revised edition (of 1984 Robert Hale 1st) 182pp illustrated, index 14x22
{condition}very good inc. d/j
{delivery info}
The following tables show the shipping costs for this book only.
Multiple purchases will have their costs calculated at the checkout, where the delivery method may also be selected.
Please refer to terms and conditions for further information regarding weight limits, delivery times etc.
U.K.tracked
first class (1-2 days)£4.75
second class (2-3 days)£4.25


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