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{{Short description|British motor racing driver (1910–1949)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''St John Ratcliffe Stewart '''"'''Jock'''"''' Horsfall''' (31 July 1910 – 20 August 1949)<ref name=stats>{{cite web|title= St John Horsfall |url= http://www.statsf1.com/en/st-john-horsfall.aspx |work= StatsF1.com |accessdate= 5 December 2012 }}</ref> was a British [[motor racing]] driver.

==1920-30s==
In his early 20s, Horsfall began competing in British club level events and he won ''The Motor Trophy'' at the [[Motor Cycling Club|MCC's]] Llandudno Trials in 1934, driving a [[Wolseley Motors|Wolseley]].<ref name=mcc1934>{{Cite magazine|title= The M.C.C. Go To Llandudno |url= http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/august-1934/49/mcc-go-llandudno |date= August 1934 |magazine= [[Motor Sport (magazine)|Motor Sport]] |volume= 10 |issue= 10 |pages= 479 |access-date= 10 November 2016 }}</ref> During the late 1930s, he became a familiar and popular competitor at British and European motor races, usually driving his [[Aston Martin]] 2-litre Speed Model, nicknamed the 'Black Car', or [[Tony Rolt]]'s [[English Racing Automobiles|ERA]].<ref name=barc1939>{{Cite magazine|title= The B.A.R.C. August Meeting |url= http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/september-1939/32/barc-august-meeting |date= September 1939 |magazine= [[Motor Sport (magazine)|Motor Sport]] |volume= 15 |issue= 9 |pages= 286 |access-date= 10 November 2016 }}</ref> Driving the 'Black Car', Horsfall won the 1938 [[Leinster Trophy]] race at [[Tallaght]].<ref name=times>{{cite web|title= Past Imperfect |url= https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/motors/past-imperfect-1.355154 |work= IrishTimes.com |accessdate= 17 September 2016 }}</ref> In the same year the pairing took victory in the 2-litre class and finished second overall in the [[RAC Tourist Trophy]] race at [[Donington Park]], beating the more fancied [[BMW]] works cars.

==World War II==
During [[World War II]] he was employed as a specialist driver for the British [[Directorate of Military Intelligence (United Kingdom)|secret service]]. As part of his duties he was involved in [[Operation Mincemeat]], a famously successful disinformation plot to convince the Germans that the Allies planned to land in Greece rather than Italy.<ref name=mincemeat>{{cite book |last= Macintyre |first= Ben |year= 2010 |title= Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured and Allied Victory |publisher= Harmony Books |location= New York |pages= [https://archive.org/details/operationminceme00maci/page/416 416] |isbn= 978-0-307-45327-3 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/operationminceme00maci/page/416 }}</ref><ref>Malcolm Gladwell, "Pandora's Briefcase" ''The New Yorker" May 10, 2010 http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2010/05/10/100510crat_atlarge_gladwell</ref> This operation was featured in the 1956 film ''[[The Man Who Never Was]]'' and the 2021 film ''[[Operation Mincemeat (film)|Operation Mincemeat]]''.

==1940s==
In 1945 he acquired a second Speed Model, registration EML129, which initially was comprehensively developed into a "Formula B" car running on [[methanol]].

Returning to the track following the cessation of hostilities, Horsfall drove the 'Black Car' to victory in the 1946 Belgian Sports Car Grand Prix.<ref name=AMM>{{cite journal|title= The Belgian Sports Car Grand Prix of 1946 |journal= AM Magazine |date= Summer 1962 |volume= 8 |issue= 14 |pages= 93 }}</ref>

In 1948 he and co-driver [[Leslie Johnson (racing driver)|Leslie Johnson]] won the [[Spa 24 Hours]] race, sharing a prototype [[Aston Martin 2-Litre Sports]] car. Also in 1948 he entered EML129 in the Hill Climb at Luton Hoo and posted the fastest time for an unsupercharged 2 litre car.

In 1949 he converted EML129 back into sports car specification and entered the Spa 24 hour race as a privateer. While he had [[Paul Frère]] as a co-driver (who had not driven the car at all), he chose to drive the car for the entire 24 hours single-handed. He finished the race 2nd in class and 4th overall and completed a longer distance than in the works car the year before. Many commentators have considered this to be one of his finest achievements. The car from then onwards became known as the 'Spa Special'.

==Death==
St John Horsfall was killed in an accident while driving an ERA racing car in the [[1949 BRDC International Trophy]] race at [[Silverstone Circuit]].<ref>"Italians Win Auto Race; British Pilot Is Killed," ''New York Times,'' August 21, 1949, p. S3</ref> Having finished in sixth place in the first 20-lap heat, on lap 13 of the 30-lap final race he clipped a straw bale at Stowe Corner and the car rolled. Unfortunately for Horsfall, he was trapped in the car as it rolled and his resultant injuries proved fatal.<ref name=brdc1949>{{Cite magazine|title= The B.R.D.C./"Daily Express" International Trophy Meeting |url= http://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/september-1949/3/matters-moment |date= September 1949 |magazine= [[Motor Sport (magazine)|Motor Sport]] |volume= 25 |issue= 9 |pages= 345–349 |access-date= 10 November 2016 }}</ref>

==Legacy==
The [[Aston Martin Owners Club]] holds an annual race meeting in his memory.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.motorsportmagazine.com/archive/article/august-1985/48/amoc-st-john-horsfall-meeting|title=AMOC St john Horsfall Meeting|website=Motor Sport Magazine}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horsfall, St. John}}
[[Category:1910 births]]
[[Category:1949 deaths]]
[[Category:24 Hours of Spa drivers]]
[[Category:Aston Martin]]
[[Category:British people of World War II]]
[[Category:British racing drivers]]
[[Category:Operation Mincemeat]]

St John Horsfall - Revision history

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