Rolling back the years! (From Free Press Series)

Rolling back the years!

A SUMMER of celebrations are planned for Monmouth to mark the 100th aniversary of when local aristocrat Charles Rolls met business partner Henry Royce to form one of the world's most famous names.

Rolls-Royce enthusiasts will be able to view a rare collection of photographs which are going on exhibition in Monmouth while Rolls-Royce owners from around the world are planning to visit the town as part of an international rally.

The Nelson Museum in Monmouth plans to put on display an archive of rarely seen photographs from the Rolls family album which chart the life of the fearless Charles Rolls.

Enthusiasts will also be able to purchase a limited edition set of the historic photographs from the Monmouth exhibition.

Rolls-Royce owners from around the world are also planning to descend on Monmouth as part of an international rally to Manchester.

They will visit the former ancestral home of Charles Rolls at The Hendre, Llangattock, which is now a golf club.

Rolls was the son of a wealthy Lord, an adventurer and aviator who became Britains first aircraft fatality at the age of just 33.

Although seen as an aristocratic playboy, Rolls was an innovator who wanted to push the technological boundaries of his day.

The exhibition in Monmouth will give an insight into his passion for all machines through pictures, press cuttings and archive material.

Andrew Helme, the museum curator, said: "He was a young man when he died and really all his life had been devoted to doing exciting things with machines.

"He was a racing cycling who built his own cycles and was one of the first people to be interested in cars, which he shared with his father Lord Llangattock.

"Charles was never a playboy. He was the youngest son of an aristocrat, but he was also interested in earning his living. He also wanted to push the boundaries of the things he was interested in and was keen to get the best out of everything he was involved in."

The exhibition at Monmouth Museum will open on April 24 and will run throughout the summer.

On Tuesday May 25, the centenary of the Roll-Royce meeting, there will be a special evening viewing for invited parties. End.