SUNDAY will see the 79th ever Grand Prix at Monaco’s famously beautiful, yet dangerous circuit.
The tight, weaving track on the Riviera has always attracted the best racers, as well as the world’s richest and most famous.
Re-live the remarkable tale of Brit racer William Grover-WilliamsCredit: Getty Images
As Lewis Hamilton prepares to do battle with Charles Leclerc and Max Verstappen in the high-tech machines of the 21st century, we’re taking a nostalgic approach.
Long before the days of near-1000 bhp engines, DRS and flappy-paddle gearboxes there was simply an engine, a steering wheel, four tires and a driver.
In the deadliest sport on the planet in the 1920s and 30s, fearless drivers risked their lives to hurtle around the glamorous street circuit.
The first-ever race at Monte Carlo took place in 1929, won by Brit William Grover-Williams.
William Grover-Williams won the first ever Monaco Grand Prix in 1929Credit: Public Domain/News Dog Media William Grover-Williams in action at the first ever Monaco Grand Prix in 1929Credit: Public Domain/News Dog Media
Born in France to an English horse-breeding father, the tale of Grover-Williams is equal parts incredible and heartbreaking.
When he was 11, he was sent to live with family in Hertfordshire to seek refuge during World War I.
On the Great War’s conclusion he returned across the Channel, moving his family to Monte Carlo – where his love of cars first blossomed.
Grover-Williams learned to drive in a Rolls-Royce and quickly earned his licence in Monaco, before buying a motorcycle and competing in motorbike races throughout the 1920s.
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The amazing scenes before the first Monaco Grand Prix in 1929, won by William Grover-Williams, who later went on to be captured by NazisCredit: Public Domain/News Dog Media The iconic Monaco Grand Prix is set to host its 79th race in history on SundayCredit: Public Domain/News Dog Media
He kept the incredibly dangerous sport under wraps from his family, riding under the pseudonym W. Williams.
By 1926 the French-born Brit had transitioned to motor racing, driving in Bugatti races throughout France, before entering the Grand Prix de Provence and the Monte Carlo Rally.
Two years later he won the French Grand Prix at Magny-Cours, before winning again in 1929.
1929 also saw the first-ever Monaco Grand Prix… which Grover-Williams went on to win.
The Brit dominated F1, winning the Grand Prix de la Baule three years in a row, as well as the Belgian GP at Spa in 1931.
Brit William Grover-Williams was captured and executed by Nazis after serving for the Special Operations Executive in Paris in World War IICredit: Public Domain/News Dog Media The first corner of the Monaco Grand Prix street circuit hasn’t changed much over the yearsCredit: Public Domain/News Dog Media
However, his career came to an end in the 1930s, before war broke out in 1939, as Nazi Germany invaded Poland.
As the Nazi’s occupied France, Grover-Williams fled to England where he joined the Royal Army Service Corps, but was immediately recruited by the Special Operations Executive due his fluency in the French language.
He teamed up his racing driver friend Robert Benoist, working in Paris setting up a host of successful operations, setting-up sabotage cells and welcome parties for Allied parachute operations.
Unfortunately, in August 1943, he was captured by the Nazis and was subjected to lengthy interrogation before he was deported to Berlin.
The famous tunnel was a staple of the Monaco GP even back in 1929Credit: Public Domain/News Dog Media The scene from the 1931 Monaco Grand Prix as the cars power around the marinaCredit: Public Domain/News Dog Media
Grover-Williams was held prisoner at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, were he was executed just months before the war ended.
Remarkably, there is a conspiracy theory surrounding Grover-Williams which claims he in fact survived the war under the pseudonym Georges Tambal.
‘Tambal’ is said to have lived with Grover-Williams’ widow for many years after the war.
Whether there’s any truth in it or not, we know his fascination for pseudonyms and his never-say-die attitude from his racing days…
So great was Grover-Williams’ legacy, he was first recommended for an MBE, before being the inspiration for 2009 video game, ‘The Saboteur’.
