William Hetherington Shipley

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William Hetherington Shipley was a 19th-century painter and decorator based in South Shields who was also an early pioneer in the world of ballooning and parachuting

South Shields coastal town at the mouth of the River Tyne, England

South Shields is a coastal town in the North East of England at the mouth of the River Tyne, about 3.7 miles (6.0 km) downstream from Newcastle upon Tyne. Historically in County Durham, the town has a population of 75,337, the third largest in Tyneside after Newcastle and Gateshead. It is part of the metropolitan borough of South Tyneside which includes the towns of Jarrow and Hebburn. South Shields is represented in Parliament by Labour MP Emma Lewell-Buck. The demonym of a person from South Shields is either a Geordie or a Sand dancer.

Parachuting action sport of exiting an aircraft and returning to Earth using a parachute

Parachuting is a method of transiting from a high point to Earth with the aid of gravity, involving the control of speed during the descent with the use of a parachute or parachutes. It may involve more or less free-falling which is a period when the parachute has not yet been deployed and the body gradually accelerates to terminal velocity.

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Shipley was born in South Shields in 1853. He was the son of Joseph Shipley (b. 1823) and Isabel (née Hetherington). [1] At one period he lived in John Clay Street, South Shields.

He was apprenticed in the merchant marine, but the log books of his voyages (1870–1871) list him on every page for committing every misdemeanour in the sailing book. At some time during his early career he became a painter and decorator (he is described as such in Thomas Allan's Illustrated Edition of Tyneside Songs and Readings , [2] published in 1891, so balloon jumping was quite in keeping with his character

Thomas Allan was an English collector of songs and a music publisher from Newcastle upon Tyne who played a major part in the recording of the music of the day.

Allan's Illustrated Edition of Tyneside Songs and Readings is a book of Tyneside popular and traditional songs consisting of approximately 400 song lyrics on over 600 pages, published in 1891. It was reprinted in 1972 by Frank Graham, Newcastle upon Tyne, with an introduction by David Harker.

At the time both ballooning, but more particularly, parachuting were unheard of novelties, at the forefront of aviation, and as such attracted much interest and curiosity wherever they took place.

In spring 1890, he made two parachute descents from a balloon floating above the town. He made his first balloon ascent from a field in Westoe on 5 April 1890 and after a successful flight (reaching, it is said, the height of 6000 feet) came down at Cleadon. On 5 April he made a particularly rash jump, descending from (so it is said) 15,000 feet. Shipley, dressed showily in dark velvet, landed on the roof of a house in John Williamson Street.

Cleadon village in United Kingdom

Cleadon is a suburban village in South Tyneside, North East England in the county of Tyne and Wear, and the historic County Durham. In 2001 the population of Cleadon was 4,795, increasing for the South Tyneside ward of Cleadon and Boldon at the 2011 Census to 8,457. Nearby villages or population centres include East Boldon, Whitburn, and Jarrow. The village is around 5 miles from the city of Sunderland and 10 miles from the city of Newcastle.

An article appeared about 10 days later in the South Shields Daily Gazette which included a poem (of which it was said contained 9 verses) written by someone using the pseudonym "Geordie". The first verses were also published in Allan's Illustrated Edition of Tyneside Songs and Readings. Queries have been raised[ by whom? ] regarding the accuracy of the heights given in the report.

Shipley continued with his ballooning and parachuting and carried out a jump descending on Newcastle Town Moor in about 1896.

Town Moor, Newcastle upon Tyne human settlement in United Kingdom

The Town Moor is a large area of common land in Newcastle upon Tyne. It covers an area of around 1000 acres or 400ha, and is larger than Hyde Park and Hampstead Heath combined, and also larger than New York City's Central Park. Like them it is not on the edge of the city, but has suburbs all around it. It stretches from the city centre and Spital Tongues in the south out to Cowgate/Kenton Bar to the west, and from Gosforth to the north and Jesmond to the east.

He was sufficiently proficient, however, to later be engaged by the Hudson Soap Co. to advertise its soap. [3]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "Shipley - parachutist". Shields Gazette. 1975.
  2. ↑ "Allan's Illustrated Edition of Tyneside songs and readings".
  3. ↑ "Balloon story not all hot air". Shields Gazette. 7 May 2010.
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