Thomas Essery Rose-Richards

6/6/1902 - 7/10/1940

Record updated 22-Jan-19

Tim Rose-Richards was a Welsh GP and sports car racing driver in the 30's who died at sea in 1940 shot down by the Germans while trying to rescue a downed German pilot.

Thomas Essery 'Tim' Rose-Richards was born in Glamorgan in 1902. A wealthy stockbroker, Tim entered Le Mans 5 times finishing third place with Sanders-Davis in 1931, third again with the Hon. Brian Lewis in 1932, both times driving a Talbot, and 3rd yet again in 1933 with Brian Lewis in an Alfa Romeo 8C 2300.

He was second in the 1933 Mannin Moar in a 2.3 Bugatti and third in the RAC Tourist Trophy of that year with an Alfa-Romeo behind Tazio Nuvolari and Hugh Caulfield Hamilton. He drove Bugatti, Talbot and Alfa-Romeo cars in many classic events in 1934, including finishing 4th in the Dieppe GP with a Bugatti T51.

In 1935 he was third at the Eifel Voiturette GP at the Nurburgring with ERA R1A one of the the first major European successes for ERA. He also partnered John Cobb in the Napier-Railton, both when it won the 500 Mile Race at 121.38 m.p.h. and when it took records at Bonneville Flats.

During WWII he was a Lieutenant in the Fleet Air Arm flying Air Sea Rescue Seaplanes out of RNAS Sandbanks. Soon after 765 Squadron got their first seaplanes, ASR Walrus', on 7th October 1940 he was shot down and killed with his co-pilot, Mike Hoskins, 8 miles South of Anvil Point, Dorset, shot down by the Germans while trying to rescue a downed German pilot. 

'Tim' Rose-Richards epitomised racing for the fun of it.



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