When World War II broke out, men and women across Britain were called upon to use their special skills to help the Allies prevail. One of them was Aston Martin works driver St. John "Jock" Horsfall, who became an MI5 agent during the war and was a key element in a bizarre but successful secret operation.
Horsfall, and a blue Aston Martin Vanquish Roadster, star in the latest video from XCAR, which recounts the so-weird-it-has-to-be-true tale of Operation Mincemeat.
As they recount here, Horsfall was a racing driver in the 1930s for Aston Martin, and one who often eschewed helmets in favor of racing in a jacket and tie because he was dapper as fuck. But for Operation Mincemeat, Horsfall was tapped to drive a van containing a corpse at high speeds to a submarine departing Scotland.
The body was dressed as a fake British major, and it was equipped with fake invasion plans to be found floating by Nazi-friendly Spanish soldiers. Amazingly, the plot worked, with the Nazis falling for Operation Mincemeat and thinking the British would invade Greece and Sardinia. They invaded Sicily instead.
The Nazis lost World War II. Bang up job, Horsfall!
By 1946, he was back at racing, but sadly he died in 1949 racing at Silverstone. Today the Aston Martin Owners Club has an annual race in his name.
Of course, all of this is an excuse not just to re-tell the amazing story, but for the XCAR guys to re-trace Horsfall's drive in the Aston roadster too. I like the way they think.