Alexandra Hammersley was a French driver who entered both races and rallies. Her British name came from her husband, who was also a rally driver.
She was a regular in rallies in France and Europe in the 1950s, often with her daughter, Genevieve, as her navigator.
In 1950, she co-drove for her husband in the Liège-Rome-Liège Rally. She entered the event for the first time in 1951, sharing a Peugeot with Ginette Francois-Sigrande.
Genevieve first joins her mother later that year. In 1951, they were 40th in the Tour de France, driving a Peugeot 203. In the 1952 Tour, they were 50th.
They entered the 1953 Monte Carlo Rally together, but retired shortly after the start when Genevieve Hammersley was hit by a bicycle. They had arrived on time from their start point at Lisbon but the accident happened at Cannes, not far away. Genevieve was taken to hospital.
The same year, they were 19th overall in the ADAC-Rallye Travemunde and second in the Paris-St. Raphaël, driving a Lancia Aurelia. This was her second go at the women-only rally, having finished sixth in the Peugeot in 1951.
An outing in the Aurelia for the Alpine Rally ended in retirement. Driving the Peugeot 203, the mother-daughter team finished 72nd in the Tulip Rally, starting from Paris.
In 1951, Alexandra was also sixth in the Bol d’Or endurance race in Paris, driving a Peugeot 1.5. She only raced occasionally on circuits.
She disappears from the entry lists after 1953. Other than the accident to Genevieve, Alexandra’s career went largely unremarked-upon in the French press. Her origins and later life are a mystery and no photos of her have come to light.
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