William Grover-Williams

William Grover-Williams
Grover-Williams in 1928
Born(1903-01-16)16 January 1903
Montrouge, Hauts-de-Seine, France
Died18 March 1945 (or shortly thereafter) (aged 42)
Sachsenhausen concentration camp, Nazi Germany
Occupation(s)Racing driver
SOE agent
Spouse
Yvonne Aupicq
​
(m. 1929⁠–⁠1945)​
Parent(s)Frederick Grover
Hermance Dagan

William Charles Frederick Grover-Williams (born William Charles Frederick Grover, 16 January 1903 – 18 March 1945 (or shortly thereafter)),[1][2][3] also known as "W Williams", was a British Grand Prix motor racing driver. He is best known for winning the first Monaco Grand Prix.[4][5]

During World War II, Grover-Williams, code named Sebastian, worked as an agent in France for the clandestine British Special Operations Executive (SOE) organization. SOE's objectives were to conduct espionage, sabotage, and reconnaissance in countries occupied by the Axis powers, especially those occupied by Nazi Germany. SOE agents allied themselves with French resistance groups and supplied them with weapons and equipment. Grover-Williams created, coordinated, and led the SOE's Chestnut network which worked near Paris. The Chestnut network organised parachute drops of weapons and equipment from SOE and stockpiled them for the use of the resistance. The German Sicherheitsdienst (SD) captured Grover-Williams in August 1943. He was imprisoned and executed in March 1945.

  1. ^ Saward 2006, pp. 27, 317–318.
  2. ^ "WWII Casualty Lists find two motor racing aces executed by the Nazis - Featured Article". www.thegenealogist.co.uk. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference brookwood_memorial was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference guinness was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Pathé, British. "Another British Triumph". www.britishpathe.com. Retrieved 5 April 2021.