An old postcard photo showing Mathilde Franck at Boldon.
Mrs Mathilde Franck was one of the earliest French aviation pioneers. Married to a British journalist, she had learnt to fly in 1910, after she experienced an hour and a quarter long flight with her husband and Henry Farman, who wanted to break the record for two passengers. Piloting a Farman brothers' aircraft, she established a record by flying non-stop, for 14 miles (22.5 kilometers) at Mourmelon, north-east of Paris.
The Parisian airwoman was invited by Richard Thornton, the manager of Sunderland's Empire Theatre, to present demonstration flights in connection with the Boldon Races. The events were held each year at Easter, Whitsun and August Bank Holidays, at the Boldon Racecourse Aerodrome, located between Sunderland and South Shields, in Tyne and Wear region. Mathilde Franck arrived in the north of England in late July of 1910, her Farman biplane was transported to Boldon by train. On the Saturday of the Bank Holiday weekend, the daring aviator made her exhibition flight, becoming the first woman to fly a powered machine anywhere in the UK. Mrs Franck announced her intention of flying again on Monday, 01 August 1910 evening.
A large crowd of about 7,000 people from Newcastle, Sunderland, South Shields and other places had waited to see the airwoman's display, which had been delayed because of a strong wind. About 19h00 o'clock Mathilde Franck climbed into her Farman biplane and took off. In order to give spectators the best possible demonstration, she was flying very low.
Tragically, disaster struck when the flimsy biplane clipped a flagstaff and turned over at a height of 25ft, crashing to the ground. A 15-year-old boy named Thomas Wood, who was sitting on the top of the boarding, was flung to the ground dead. He was caught by the plane propeller, suffering fatal injuries. His back was both lacerated and broken. Five other people were injured by the machine, Mathilde Franck escaped with internal injuries and a broken leg.
The accident brought Mathilde Franck's flying career to an end. Despite she had expressed hopes of entering the the New York Times-sponsored Chicago to New York Air Race, scheduled to be contested later in 1910, she never obtained a licence.
Mrs Rosalind Mathilde Franck passed away in 1956. Text from Motorsport Memorial.