Major Anthony Peter Roylance Rolt, MC & Bar, (16 October 1918 – 6 February 2008) was a British racing driver, soldier and engineer.

He was one of the last prewar winners remaining too – he won the 1939 British Empire Trophy, aged just 20 in 1939 – this was after he started his career in 1935, as a 16-year-old, in a 3-wheeler Morgan in speed trials.

[4][5][6] He began competing while at Eton, in a Morgan three-wheeler in their trials before, in 1936, making his track début sharing a Triumph Gloria Vitesse with Jack Elliott in the Spa 24 Hours, where the pair finished 11th, fourth in class.

Throughout 1937, he raced the Triumph Dolomite, winning the Coronation Trophy, before acquiring the famous ERA Remus from his fellow Old Etonians, the Siamese princes, Chula Chakrabongse and Bira Birabongse.

The men defending Calais held for three days trying to stop the 10th Panzer Division (Wehrmacht) from advancing, and in doing so delaying their attack on Dunkirk.

For his actions, he was awarded the Military Cross: his exploits included helping a wounded comrade while firing his Bren gun at the advancing German troops.

Also, in 1952 came the most significant move of his racing career; he was invited to join the Jaguar team, ”I’d proved quite competitive at Dundrod where I actually lapped the C-Type faster than Stirling [Moss].

At the 1950 British Grand Prix, the first-ever round of the F1 World Championship, he started 10th on the grid in an ERA that had been qualified by Peter Walker, but the gearbox failed after four laps.

[9][10][11][12][19][20][21] Rolt competed in every 24 Heures du Mans race from 1949 to 1955, famously winning the 1953 event in a Jaguar C-Type shared with Hamilton.

Rolt and his wife, Lois witnessed the disaster that year, which claimed more than 80 lives after Pierre Levegh's Mercedes left the track and ploughed into spectators.

By the end of 1956, although still a member of the Jaguar works team, Rolt retired from active racing to devote his full efforts to the Ferguson development programme.

With the technical director Claude Hill and the project engineer Derek Gardner, Rolt was among the unsung backroom heroes of British racing development.

Although Rolt was more than capable of driving the car fast enough for test purposes, Jack Fairman was called in to race it in the 1961 British Empire Trophy and 1961 RAC British Grand Prix at Aintree, proving without doubt the four-wheel drive allied to the Dunlop Maxaret braking system was substantially superior in the wet.

Despite a trip the Tasman Series and success in the hands Peter Westbury, when he won the British Hill Climb Championship in 1964, the car was not used much again.

[5][6] He was the last surviving driver from that inaugural World Championship Grand Prix held at Silverstone; also the last pre-World War member of the prestigious BRDC, having been elected in 1936.