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Dolly Shepherd, the famous balloonist
is shown taking off in her hot air
balloon, at the Pickering Gala, on
Wednesday 26 July 1911. She struck a tree
branch on her ascent, it stuck in her
clothing and can be seen above her head.
The gala was held in the Avenue Field,
next to Pickering Castle. Dolly Shepherd
would tour the country transporting her
balloon to events with four horses and a
wagon. The balloon was inflated with hot
air after building a bonfire close to it.
When the balloon rose Dolly hung onto a
trapeze below. When it was high enough she
would pull a rip cord in order to make the
balloon collapse. She would then open a
parachute and float back down to the
ground. Dolly earned a place in the record
books when she came to the rescue of
another parachutist in mid-air in 1908.
She managed to hoist the girl, who was in
trouble, under her canopy at about 11,000
feet and the two descended together.
Dolly's daughter, Molly Sedgewick, now
undertakes parachute jumps with the 'Red
Devils' free fall parachute team of the
British Parachute Regiment. Picture By:
Sidney Smith
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