The fledgling motor racing career of Tony Rolt, that began at the age of 18 in 1936, was halted by the outbreak of war just three years later. A lieutenant in the Rifle Brigade, Rolt was taken prisoner during the Siege of Calais in the spring of 1940, just before the perilous evacuation of the British Expeditionary Force by sea from Dunkirk. His many escape attempts accounted for his transfer to the Oflag (short for Offizierslager, or Officers’ Prison Camp) at Colditz Castle, near Leipzig in Germany. During his captivity there, he helped hatch a particularly audacious escape plan involving the secret construction of a two-seater glider in the lower attic above the castle chapel. The glider was designed to be launched from the chapel roof with two escapees aboard! However the Colditz prisoners were freed by the US army in spring 1945 before this incredible project reached its ultimate conclusion.

Once peace was restored, Rolt returned to his motor racing career. He was at the wheel of a Delahaye 135 S when the 24 Hours of Le Mans resumed in 1949 and, the following year, on 13 May 1950, he took part in the inaugural Formula One Grand Prix at Silverstone. A month later, on 24 June, he notched up a fourth-place finish at Le Mans that marked the start of a long collaboration with fellow Briton Duncan Hamilton. Together they contested the Le Mans 24-Hour race six times. In 1952, they became Jaguar works drivers which paved the way to the pinnacle of their racing career – the Le Mans win in 1953, followed by the runners-up spot a year later behind the Ferrari 375 Plus of Jose Froilan Gonzalez and Maurice Trintignant. Shocked by the tragedy that struck Le Mans on 11 June 1955, Rolt decided to hang up his driving gloves and concentrate on automotive engineering.

While victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans crowned his motor racing career, his efforts during World War II prior to his capture had earned Rolt the Military Cross, the third highest British military distinction, to which a bar was added in recognition of his escape attempts.

Jean-Philippe Doret / ACO
Translated from French by David Goward

Photo: LE MANS (SARTHE, FRANCE), CIRCUIT DES 24 HEURES, LE MANS 24 HOURS, SUNDAY 14 JUNE 1953, FINISH. Tony Rolt (right) teamed up with Duncan Hamilton in six of his seven Le Mans appearances. Here, in 1953, Hamilton has just taken the chequered flag to mark their first place in the 21st running of the legendary 24-Hour race.