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.