A Grand Prix racing driver before WWII, William Grover-Williams won the inaugural Monaco Grand Prix and later raced for Bugatti with his colleague Robert Benoist. With the onset of war, Williams became a special agent for the British SOE and organized the ‘Chestnut’ resistance network in occupied France. With Benoist as his second in command, Williams worked in the Paris region to build a successful circuit of operatives, forming sabotage cells and reception committees for Allied parachute operations.