William Hetherington Shipley

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

Details

Shipley was born in South Shields in 1853. He was the son of Joseph Shipley and Isabel. 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 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 came down at Cleadon. On 5 April he made a particularly rash jump, descending from 15,000 feet. Shipley, dressed showily in dark velvet, landed on the roof of a house in John Williamson Street.
An article appeared about 10 days later in the South Shields Daily Gazette which included a poem 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 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.
He was sufficiently proficient, however, to later be engaged by the Hudson Soap Co. to advertise its soap.