Famous French People Roland Garros © by Robert Shepherd Hello, you’re listening to EnglishWaves and this is Robert Shepherd with Famous French. Now, our subject this week is often mistaken to have been a tennis player. In actual fact, he was a French aviator and World War I hero. But if you’re familiar with the French Open tennis tournament, you’ve definitely heard of him. He is Roland Garros. Born in Saint-Denis, Réunion on 6 th October 1888, Eugène Adrien Roland Georges Garros studied in Paris. Knowing at a young age what he wanted to do, Garros began his life in aviation in 1909, flying a Demoiselle monoplane. Two years later, he graduated to flying Blériot monoplanes and entered a number of European air races, including the 1911 Paris to Madri d air race - and he came second in the Paris-London -Paris Circuit of Europe race. In September 1911, Garros set a new world altitude record of 18,410 feet and it wasn’t long until he became famous for making the first non -stop flight across the Mediterrane an Sea from Fréjus in the south of France to Bizerte in Tunisia. In 1914, Garros joined the French army following the outbreak of World War I. The story goes that Garros drove his airplane into a German Zeppelin dirigible above the German frontier, destroy ing the aircraft and killing both pilots in what was considered to be the first air battle in world history. Garros also achieved the first ever shooting -down of an aircraft by a fighter firing through a tractor propeller, on 1st April 1915. Later that mon th, Garros's aircraft was downed by ground fire and he glided to a landing on the German side of the lines. Garros failed to destroy his aircraft completely and he was taken prisoner: most significantly, the gun and armoured propeller remained intact. Afte r several attempts, Garros escaped a Prisoner of War camp in Germany on 14 th February 1918 and he swiftly rejoined the French army. However, on 5th October, tragedy struck. Garros was shot down and killed in Ardennes, just a month before the war ended and one day before his 30th birthday. Garros was known to pick up a tennis racket in his day and the tennis centre he used to frequent when he was studying in Paris was named the Stade de Roland Garros. It accommodates the French Open, one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments. In fact, the tournament is officially called Les Internationaux de France de Roland-Garros. That’s not the only thing named after him. One is the international airport in his birthplace of Réunion and there is a place called Roland Garros where he landed in Bizerte. If you’re into cars, then you might be aware that Peugeot commissioned a 'Roland Garros' limited edition version of its 205 Model before adding his name to the 106, 206, 207, 208, 306, 406 and 806 models. Enjoy the tennis and stay tuned to EnglishWaves. .