Drivers who gave their lives in wartime

[TimD]

On this Remembrance Sunday, my thoughts turned to the racing drivers who went to war, many of whom never returned from service.

Their stories are many and varied, and one thing strikes me - the sheer number of them who joined the air forces of their various nations. How easy was it for a fast car driver to turn his skills and mechanical sympathy to a fighting aircraft?

In a very few minutes, I found Hon Peter Aitken, Ulrich Bigalke, Ernst Burggaller, AFP Fane, Luis Fontes, Rudolf Hasse, Percy MacLure, Richard Shuttleworth, Hans Simons, Chris Staniland, Johnny Wakefield.

I'm sure there are many more, and I would be fascinated to hear about them.

Many and varied were their fates. AFP Fane (real name Alfred Agabeg) was a crew member in a Lancaster bomber on the raid which attempted to sink the battleship Tirpitz. Rudolf Hasse, the Auto Union works driver, was one of those countless thousands who lost their lives at the Russian front.

Bigalke and Burggaller were both Luftwaffe pilots, and were lost during the Battle of Britain. Chris Staniland, Brooklands driver of note, was a skilled test pilot, whose Fairey Firefly naval fighter broke up in mid air.

Most poignant of all, I think, are the fates of Robert Benoist, Jean Tremoulet and William Grover-Williams. They were all actively involved in the French Resistance, but were arrested and executed for their efforts.

Who else have I missed?

And what about all of those great personalities of motor racing who saw out their military service and returned to the track? Immediately, the names Eddie Rickenbacker, Sir Henry "Tim" Birkin, and Captain Malcolm Campbell spring to mind.

[angst]

Georges Boillot, shot down during the first world war, apparently fighting his air battles in the same manner he drove his Grands Prix, with absolute self-belief, bravery and that swagger particular to him. Are there any books on this man, yet another of the great characters?

[Truckosaurus]

Nicely put Tim.

Over the summer I noticed for the first time a small monument beside the mini-roundabout just inside the main entrance to the Silverstone circuit, it is in honour of the crew of a WWII bomber which crash landed on its return from a raid.

There is also a memerial plaque for Robert Benoist on the stand which bears his name at Le Mans.

[Boniver]

TimD,

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http://www.atlasf1.com/bb/showthread.php?threadid=12221

[TimD]

Welcome to 10-tenths, Boniver. I hope you have a good time here. The Historic Racing forum can always use new enthusiasts.


I've been doing a little more research on this theme, as someone suggested it may make an interesting anthology - oh, dear - another book project.

And I've found some discrepancies in the recorded accounts over AFP Fane. I listed him as a member of a Lancaster crew, but I have started to find references to him being a Spitfire pilot in a Photo Reconaissance Unit. As one of the sources of this new information is Denis Jenkinson, I am inclined to take it seriously.

Either way, he was certainly involved in the Tirpitz raid, but I would be interested to know if anyone has any primary evidence as to his role.

[SL]

TimD.

Amazingly you forgot "Mr Bentley" Wolf Barnato, Wing Commander during WWII, and 1st Lieutenant in the Royal Fiels Artillery, seeing action in WWI at Ypres and Palestine. He died shortly after WWII in 1946.

There was a series in Motor Sport some months ago where they tracked down some Mermorials, sadly some defaced by some mindless morons, others badly overgrown.

Simon

[Boniver]

Tremoulet, was not executed, but dead on a motorcycle accident while on a mission for the Frence resistance

[Peter Mallett]

I'm not totally certain but the book "From Chain Drive to Turbochargers" does mention a driver who is commemorated by a small monument at his home in Buckinghamshire. Can't remember who it was though. Still its something for you to research.