Dolly Shepherd

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Dolly Shepherd

Dolly Shepherd , née Elizabeth Mariam Shepherd (born November 19, 1886 in Potters Bar , Middlesex , England , † September 21, 1983 in Eastbourne , Sussex ) was a British skydiver .

Life

She began her skydiving career in 1904 after completing the 30-minute training course, which was then compulsory at the time, by jumping out of a balloon at an air show where the parachute team led by Auguste Gaudron held demonstrations. The jump was so successful that Gaudron offered her a position in his troop. Over time, she made more than 200 jumps, mostly from balloons. This earned her the name Parachute queen or Britain's Queen of the Air .

In 1906 there was an accident while attempting a double parachute jump from a balloon. The second jumper's umbrella, Louie May, did not open. Shepherd managed to reach the ground alive with May on just one parachute. This process is considered the first mid-air rescue.

Shepherd ended her professional skydiving career in 1912. During the First World War she was employed as an ambulance driver, in the Second World War she served as a bunker supervisor. A few years before her death, she flew again with the Red Devils , the sports parachute team of the British Parachute Regiment .

After their marriage, Dolly Shepherd was named Sedgwick. She had a daughter, Molly Sedgwick. Dolly Shepherd died in 1983.

literature

  • Dolly Shepherd, Peter Hearn, Molly Sedgwick: When the 'chute went up . R. Hale, London 1984, ISBN 978-0-7090-1551-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Tim Brady: The American aviation experience: a history . Southern Illinois University Press, 2000, ISBN 0-8093-2325-7 ( limited preview in Google Book Search).
  2. ↑ a b c d Entry in Robert Recks: Who's Who in Balooning
  3. ^ John Neal: Bless You, Brother Irvin: The Caterpillar Club Story . GSPH, ISBN 1-894263-94-4 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  4. ↑ Own representation
personal data
SURNAME Shepherd, Dolly
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Shepherd, Elizabeth Mariam (maiden name); Sedgwick, Elizabeth (married name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British skydiver
DATE OF BIRTH November 19, 1886
PLACE OF BIRTH Potters Bar , Middlesex, England
DATE OF DEATH September 21, 1983
Place of death Eastbourne , Sussex, England