Casualties of War

It was really very gratifying to have received so much positive feedback on the “Absent Friends” feature that we ran in the September ’04 issue of VRJ. One never knows how a story like that will be received, as its focus was more on the war and its effects on three drivers, and less on their cars and the racing.

I have to confess to becoming ever more fascinated with the influence that World War II had on racing and the automotive industry in general. Obviously, this is a very unique period in racing history as Hitler —and to a slightly lesser extent, Mussolini—saw the political and propaganda value to be had from professional motorsport. The result was the near total domination of the late ’30s by the Mercedes and Auto Union juggernauts. But even more interesting than the larger political/industrial ramifications of the war, are the many gripping—and sometimes heart-wrenching—stories of racing personalities such as Wimille, Benoist and Williams, as told in Robert Newman’s feature. Here were three racers—all connected at some point in time through racing—thrust into an unfamiliar world of espionage and death. Sadly, as so often has been the case when the worlds of politics and sport collide, it was the athletes who were thrust into a position of having to make choices that would forever change the course of their lives. Another fascinating example of this is the story of British driver Dick Seaman.