J. Chauncey Redding

J. CHAUNCEY REDDING
-1915

J. Chauncey Redding's airplane on the beach, Carnival Week, 1915.
Courtesy Gertrude Palmer.
From HAMPTON: A CENTURY OF TOWN AND BEACH, 1888-1988
by Peter Evans Randall

ATWOOD FLIES OVER HAMPTON, NH, 1912 Although not an athletic activity, flying airplanes has long been a sport for Hampton, New Hampshire men and women. Pioneer aviator Harry Atwood flew his biplane over the town in May 1912 en route from Saugus, Massachusetts, to Portland, Maine. According to the newspaper, he came in low over the eastern part of town, then flew over the village "close enough to inspect the Dearborn monument. This was the first view of an aeroplane for many people in town." A few months later, people got a closer look at the plane when Atwood landed on the Hampton River in July. While flying along the coast, he had become lost in a fogbank off Rye Beach, circled around, and finally recognized Hampton River, where he landed. A highlight of the 1915 Carnival Week was aviator Chauncey Redding, who performed aerial stunts off the beachfront and took passengers for rides. For many years, Bob Fogg and his airplane were a popular attraction at the Beach, landing on the sand to pick up passengers for sightseeing trips.
This excerpt is taken from the online version of
Hampton" A Century of Town and Beach, 1888 to 1988
by Peter Evans Randall.
I hearlily recommend that you visit the site by clicking on the title.
The specific item is taken from
Chapter 20, Sports.
This reference to Chauncey Redding was kindly provided by the
Lane Memorial Library
2 Academy Avenue, Hampton, NH 03842

ONLINE RESOURCES If you search for "J. Chauncey Redding", using the Google search engine, (8-4-05), you will find about 3 of 5 links, two of them from the Lane Memorial Library website. In addition, the following website has been recommended by John M. Holman, 8-3-05

HAMPTON BEACH CARNIVAL -- 1915
"Our Town" By James W. Tucker
The Hampton Union
Thursday, July 19, 1951 This revue of the planning for the "Big Carnival Week", which was to be held in 1915, mentions the important contribution of "Aviator Redding." It offers a fascinating insight into the thought processes of the city fathers of the era. You can access the site by clicking on the title above.

GOVERNOR SEES BIG AUTO PARADE
Mardi Gras Festival Feature of
Big Carnival Week
Blanche Thompson (Worcester) Crowned Carnival Queen
September 1915 The following excerpt is one of several very interesting articles which have been placed online by the Lane Memorial Library. In addition, it offers a beautiful picture of Redding and Miss Blanche Thompson Worcestor in his aeroplane. To read the other articles in the series, just click on the title above.

FIRST BEACH QUEEN RETURNS TO HAMPTON BEACH
The First "Carnival Queen"
Blanche (Thompson) Worcestor
September 9, 1915
The Hampton Union -- ca. 1970-71
     There's only one Blanche Thompson Worcestor and she was the very first "Carnival Queen" ["Carnival Queens" up to 1945, then "Miss Hampton Beach" to the present]. She was crowned on September 9 in the year 1915.
     The Carnival Queen recalls that she raised a little over $300 (with a little help from her Dad). When she took top honors, she received a large heart shaped box of candy, a diamond ring, and an airplane ride. Blanche has had the diamond reset in another ring and still wears it.
     Probably the most thrilling part of her crowning was her ride with Chauncey Redding in a biplane. She remembers that they took off from Hampton and flew up to 1,000 feet and then landed in the sand with a flat tire.
These excerpts are from the Lane Memorial Library website.
To read the whole series of articles, simply click on:
Lane Memorial Library

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE
via email from John M. Holman, 5-3-05 Hi Ralph;
Was Reddington Landing in Hampton, NH, named after J. Chauncey Redding, one of Hampton's first aviators? I was putting 2 and 2 together and getting four, when it dawned on me that this might be the answer. The road runs adjacent to the Hampton Airfield on Lafayette Road in North Hampton.
Do you have any additional information on early Hampton Aviators?
Thanks.
John
Editor's Note: We thank John for this bit of information. All the information I have on Redding is to be found on this page. If any of you can help answer John's request, I will be happy to forward your responses to him.

TWO AVIATORS DIE IN FALL AT LYNN, 1915
Biplane collapses - bodies found buried in mud of Massachusetts marsh.
Newsclipping from unidentified paper
Courtesy of Joe Sanford, 1-3-03
"Lynn, Mass., Oct. 21 - J. Chauncey Redding, of Melrose, and Philip Bulman, of Malden, were killed today by the fall of a biplane in which they were making an experimental flight."
     Redding, who was the manager of the Saugus Aviation School, was the operator of the machine and Bulman was his mechanician. They had risen from the aviation field and were soaring over the marshes nearby when the wing framework appeared to collapse and the machine dropped.
     Both men were buried to a depth of two feet in the soft mud of the marsh and were dead when taken out.
     In the home of Redding, in Malden, the police tonight found several imitation bombs and at Bulman's home a broken parachute. According to District Attorney Sullivan, neither Redding or Bulman had an aviators license.
     For the last two weeks the boys have been at the Saugus Aviation Course. Their biplane, equipped with a 60-horsepower engine, had made many flights, and from it Bulman had made a parachute jump in Boston, a year ago, landing on the common.
     A few weeks ago Bulman was at Brockton, where he was to do a parachute jump with James Olsen, the latter deciding to make the flight alone and was killed for his pains when a gust of wind overturned the plane. On July 6, at a celebration in Malden, Bulman made a parachute jump which resulted in his sustaining a broken ankle, and the flight he made this afternoon was the first since that time.
     Redding was the son of an electrician and had for some time practiced aviation, and expected to become a member of some aviation corps in Europe.

Redding Obituary
The article is from a Dallas, TX newspaper.
For your information, the 21st Oct 1915 was a Tuesday.
Contributed by Ryan Smith, 9-23-10

Editor's Note:
If you have any information on this Early Bird,
please contact me.
E-mail to Ralph Cooper

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