27 replies to this topic

[Nanni Dietrich]

Recognised among the very first rank of French aces in pre-war era, Albert Divo drove for Sunbeam, Talbot, Delage and Bugatti works teams, winning three major Grand Prix races and two consecutive editions of the Targa Florio, in the 1920s.

Albert Eugène Divo was reported to be of Italian descent, but several sources - mainly German websites - indicate his original family name was Diwo, which is not an Italian surname, possibly German.

What's the truth?

[Allan Lupton]

Diwo would be the German spelling of what we would spell Divo in English (and Italian I think).

[Rupertlt1]

PARISIAN Albert Divo, famous and successful G.P. driver in the 1920s with Sunbeam, Talbot and Delage cars, was recently awarded the Legion d'Honneur.

Autosport, 27 February 1953, Page 258.

 

RGDS RLT

[Sterzo]

It would be fascinating to know Divo's early history. His first Grand Prix drive was 1923, having been a riding mechanic. Had he raced something, somewhere, prior to that? How did he end up in the English end of the STD combine?

[lustigson]

Recognised among the very first rank of French aces in pre-war era, Albert Divo drove for Sunbeam, Talbot, Delage and Bugatti works teams, winning three major Grand Prix races and two consecutive editions of the Targa Florio, in the 1920s.

Albert Eugène Divo was reported to be of Italian descent, but several sources - mainly German websites - indicate his original family name was Diwo, which is not an Italian surname, possibly German.

What's the truth?

 

When questions arise revolving around German and Italian, I often think of the South-Tirol region, where there are many people with German-sounding names, and I believe German-speaking people still, as well.

[Vitesse2]

There does seem to be a German - or more precisely a Saarland - connection. I've found him in a family tree on Ancestry.

 

Albert's father Michel Divo was born in 1855 in Oberesch Rehlingen Siersburg, Saarland and his mother Barbe Marie Dodler in 1859 in Hayes, Moselle, Lorraine, so we're already on the borders of France and the nascent German Empire. [They both died in June 1940, although on different dates and in different locations in France]

 

Michel's father was Nicolas Divo, born in Gerlfangen in Saarland in 1809. He died in Schwerdorff, also in the French département of Moselle, in 1879 - the eastern border of the commune of Schwerdorff also forms part of the modern border between France and Germany and the village is only about 10 kilometres from Oberesch Rehlingen Siersburg, which is of course across the border. It appears that Nicolas may have changed the spelling of his surname at some point between 1836 and Michel's birth in 1855, as his siblings are recorded variously as either Divo or Diwo and the birth of another son (possibly died in infancy?) recorded in 1836 uses Diwo. His first name was Pierre.

 

More definite is the fact that Nicolas was the son of Johann Diwo (1764-1825), who was born and died in - you guessed it! - Gerlfangen. However, the spelling of the family name seems to have been flexible in that generation as well, as his siblings are also variously Diwo and Divo.

 

Johann's father was Léonard Divo (1697-1767) - and he was born in Schwerdorff. His father was Heinrich Divo (1670-1736), born in Cottendorff, which is a hamlet just outside Schwerdorff.

 

So, in summary, it appears that the family used both spellings and were quite happy to pair a German-looking surname with a French-looking forename - and vice versa. That also presumes that the earlier generations were literate of course - I haven't dug down into the source material, but it might just be down to the preferences of individual recording clerks - on hearing the surname a French speaking one might put Divo and a German speaking one would write Diwo. Based purely on intuition I'd guess it's probably originally a French name - maybe a toponymic one as in 'Someone de Somewhere' - but the family tree ends at Heinrich.

 

ETA: or perhaps it was a patronymic and originally d'Ivo? As in son of Ivo? Saint Ivo is the patron saint of Brittany and it's also the root of the French forename Yves.

[Vitesse2]

In addition, the history of the Saarland isn't exactly helpful, when you consider the dates involved. Sometimes it's French and sometimes it's German. All those German princely states get very confusing!

 

From 1381 to 1793 Saarbrücken was ruled by the counts of Nassau-Saarbrücken. The territory around Saarbrücken, though inhabited by German-speaking people, was much influenced by France in the 150 years following the Peace of Westphalia (1648). Saar became a French province in 1684 under the Truce of Regensburg, but in 1697 France was forced to surrender all of Saar except the town of Saarlouis under the Treaty of Rijswijk. From 1792 to 1815 France again occupied Saar, together with the entire west bank of the Rhine. With the final defeat of Napoleon I in 1815, France was forced to cede most of Saar to Prussia, which made the area part of its Prussian Rhine province. When Alsace-Lorraine was added to the German Empire in 1871, Saar ceased to be a boundary state and experienced rapid industrial development based on its own coal deposits and the iron-ore deposits of Lorraine.

Source: https://www.britanni.../place/Saarland

 

https://en.wikipedia...sau-Saarbrücken

[Doug Nye]

Stunning!  I find such grasp of the interweb malarky just mind-bogglingly impressive...  

 

Earlier in what might laughingly be described as my 'career' I spent years fruitlessly trying to research similar matters ... by post.

 

DCN

[Michael Ferner]

It would be fascinating to know Divo's early history. His first Grand Prix drive was 1923, having been a riding mechanic. Had he raced something, somewhere, prior to that? How did he end up in the English end of the STD combine?

 

He drove for STD in 1922 already, finishing second to Lee Guinness in both the 1500cc class of the Tourist Trophy and the Coupe des Voiturettes. He also won the 1500cc "Tourisme" (effectively Sports car) class at Mont Ventoux (from a Citroën!) and again at Laffrey, then the 1500cc Racing car class at Planfoy, and was entered for the Klausenrennen, but I think he did not appear. He was also entered at Gaillon in the 1500cc Racing car class, but did not get to run when the event was stopped after an accident. I don't have anything on him driving before 1922.

 

He was always described as Frenchman, from what I could remember, but the Saarland connection does make sense, for all the reasons Richard mentioned. Diwo is not a German name I ever recall seeing, but that doesn't mean it couldn't have been.

[Vitesse2]

First definite reference to him that I can see in l'Auto (22 July 1921, p1) is as René Thomas's riding mechanic in the 1921 GP de l'ACF. Possible earlier reference in 1919 as a new member of some sort of physical fitness club in Paris.

[Nanni Dietrich]

Albert Divo was the riding mechanic who accompanied in the 1921 Indianapolis 500 the great French star René Thomas, winner of the 1914 edition of the race. However, they had to retire their 8-cylinder Sunbeam on 144th lap, shortly after a plug change, being classified tenth.

[kabouter]

He drove for STD in 1922 already, finishing second to Lee Guinness in both the 1500cc class of the Tourist Trophy and the Coupe des Voiturettes.

 

In A Record of Grand Prix and Voiturette Racing Vol. 1 Sheldon writes about the International 1500 Trophy (in conjunction with the TT): "... It took Guinness another three laps to overtake Divo, who was driving remarkably well in his first road race. Previously he had been mechanic to Rene Thomas."

 

Incidentally, according to Sheldon, the winner of this race was Algernon Lee Guinness (Kenelm driving the big Sunbeam in the Tourist Trophy proper), and the winner of the Coupe des Voiturettes was Kenelm Lee Guinness.

[oliver heal]

Albert Diwo changed his name to Divo in 1928 mostly because the English were incapable of pronouncing it properly! But I get the impression he was calling himself Divo long before it was changed officially. His family name was Diwo and he had 8 siblings. Did they bother to change their name as well? He was born in Paris but the family came from Oberesch as recorded above.

But how did he shoot to prominence so quickly?

[DCapps]

Albert Divo was the riding mechanic who accompanied in the 1921 Indianapolis 500 the great French star René Thomas, winner of the 1914 edition of the race. However, they had to retire their 8-cylinder Sunbeam on 144th lap, shortly after a plug change, being classified tenth.

 

Actually, they weren't "classified" at all, not finishing the race or being flagged while still running but not finishing the full distance. The tenth place finish/classification is one of the many/usual anachronisms that has found its way into such things. Only eight cars finished the 1921 International Sweepstakes event, with a ninth car, Mulford's, flagged after completing 177 laps, but not being listed as a finisher despite being given ninth place. From what I have seen, it was not until the 1929 edition of the International Sweepstakes that all the participants in the event were provided with ordinal classifications. As they say, the past was a different place and they tended to do things rather differently back then, despite whatever the modern "auto racing historians" might think.

[Vitesse2]

Albert Diwo changed his name to Divo in 1928 mostly because the English were incapable of pronouncing it properly! But I get the impression he was calling himself Divo long before it was changed officially. His family name was Diwo and he had 8 siblings. Did they bother to change their name as well? He was born in Paris but the family came from Oberesch as recorded above.

But how did he shoot to prominence so quickly?

According to the family tree I referenced above (which I can't necessarily vouch for of course) Albert was an only child and his surname is certainly spelled Divo in the 1921 l'Auto article I quoted. His grandfather did have seven siblings though - who variously seem to have been styled Diwo or Divo.

 

However, l'Auto does also have references to bicycle racers called Diwo/Divo, starting in late 1912. An Eugène Divo can be found in i/d 17 Nov 1912, but there is also an A Diwo in i/d 7 Oct 1917. In i/d 28 Apr 1918 the entry list for a race includes both an A Divo and a G Divo, although in i/d 11 May 1918 we find Augustin Diwo and Gaston Diwo.

 

Looking again at the 1919 reference, I think it's actually a cycle club. So perhaps he followed the familiar cyclist/racing driver route?

 

Michael referenced his win at Laffrey above - according to l'Auto he was 'un amateur' there, so perhaps that was a private entry?

[D-Type]

Can I have a quick German lesson please?  I know a German "W" at the beginning of a word is pronounced like a British "V".  Is the same true of a "W" in the middle of a word?  If so, given the bilingual nature of the Saarland, could the Divo/Diwo spelling simply depend on the mother tongue of the person writing it down?

[cpbell]

Can I have a quick German lesson please?  I know a German "W" at the beginning of a word is pronounced like a British "V".  Is the same true of a "W" in the middle of a word?  If so, given the bilingual nature of the Saarland, could the Divo/Diwo spelling simply depend on the mother tongue of the person writing it down?

Correct as far as I'm aware.

[Michael Ferner]

Yes, that's correct. Richard's explanation in #6 is perfectly plausible, in that family names often get "butchered" by clerks writing them down for the first time. Many people were illiterate in centuries past, and would have had no idea how to spell their name!

[uechtel]

The 'w' is always pronounced like in 'water', but the pronouncation of a 'v' is either like 'w' or 'f', depending on what letters come next and which region you are from...

 

In the same way, for the reason Michael has explained, the spelling of names of the same meaning (and even prounounciation) can differ a lot: Meier, Maier, Meier, Meyer, Mair etc.

 

To me neither Divo nor Diwo sound really originally German. Neither version has any 'real' meaning.

[Geoff E]

Many people were illiterate in centuries past, and would have had no idea how to spell their name!

 

There are six known surviving signatures of a notable English dramatist born in 1564.

 

All six, including two on a single document - his Will - are different spellings of his surname.

 

None of them use the "correct" spelling "Shakespeare".

[Vitesse2]

Yes, that's correct. Richard's explanation in #6 is perfectly plausible, in that family names often get "butchered" by clerks writing them down for the first time. Many people were illiterate in centuries past, and would have had no idea how to spell their name!

And of course it also relies on the ability of a modern transcriber to read and correctly copy 300-year-old handwriting in documents which might be in poor condition. I have enough problems with printed 1930s Fraktur, let alone things written in antique cursive scripts for which there probably isn't even a manual of handwriting!

 

To me neither Divo nor Diwo sound really originally German. Neither version has any 'real' meaning.

This distribution map shows that it's a name concentrated in NE France, but hardly found elsewhere in the country.

 

https://forebears.io/surnames/divo Click on World, select France from the dropdown and then zoom in.

 

My money would be on it being of patronymic origin - d'Ivo. Ivo is a name which is rooted in Ancient Germanic and most often found in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands; given that geographic spread and the shifting history and language groupings in a small area - German in all its forms, French, Flemish, Luxembourgisch - it's not much of a leap to assume that the son of someone called Ivo would become d'Ivo.

[Michael Ferner]

The 'w' is always pronounced like in 'water', but the pronouncation of a 'v' is either like 'w' or 'f', depending on what letters come next and which region you are from...

 

In the same way, for the reason Michael has explained, the spelling of names of the same meaning (and even prounounciation) can differ a lot: Meier, Maier, Meier, Meyer, Mair etc.

 

To me neither Divo nor Diwo sound really originally German. Neither version has any 'real' meaning.

 

Sorry, but I have to disagree here - the German 'w' is not pronounced anything like in the English word 'water', except perhaps in the way Germans pronounce the word! And the German 'v' is generally pronounced like 'f', except for loan words (e.g. 'Vase', 'Violine', 'Vanille' etc.). Since, as you said, 'Divo' is not a German word, however, it would probably be pronounced the same as 'Diwo' anyway.

[robert dick]

Divo's Légion d'Honneur,
including (image 7) a birth certificate issued by the Mairie of the 18ème Arrondissement/Paris:

https://www.leonore....i/notice/118068
 

[Vitesse2]

Well, I think that's conclusive!

 

The items you find continue to amaze, Robert.

[oliver heal]

I agree with Michael about the pronunciation. I tend to assume every motoring enthusiast knows how to pronounce Volkswagen but maybe my perception is distorted by having lived in Germany for 9 years.  If you say FolksVagen you are not far out.

 

Back in the 1990s a cousin of Divo was researching Albert Divo's career and he provided a list of 9 Diwo siblings:

Louis Jean 1884. Emile Francois 1887. Georges Pierre 1888. Suzanne  1890. Alexandre 1892. Albert Eugene 1895 (this is our man). Eugene 1897. Augustin Michel 1900. Gaston Emile 1902.

They were all born in Paris so can safely be regarded as French!

Albert did not marry and had no descendants.

 

Now we know there were bicycle racers amongst them.

[cpbell]

Sorry, but I have to disagree here - the German 'w' is not pronounced anything like in the English word 'water', except perhaps in the way Germans pronounce the word! And the German 'v' is generally pronounced like 'f', except for loan words (e.g. 'Vase', 'Violine', 'Vanille' etc.). Since, as you said, 'Divo' is not a German word, however, it would probably be pronounced the same as 'Diwo' anyway.

Glad to hear from a German confirming what I learned in my GCSE in 1999!

[wolf sun]

There are six known surviving signatures of a notable English dramatist born in 1564.

 

All six, including two on a single document - his Will - are different spellings of his surname.

 

None of them use the "correct" spelling "Shakespeare".

 

Oh, as far as I know Goethe did the same thing (and rightly so)!

[a_tifoosi]

It would be fascinating to know Divo's early history. His first Grand Prix drive was 1923, having been a riding mechanic. Had he raced something, somewhere, prior to that? How did he end up in the English end of the STD combine?

 

Perhaps René Thomas's unpublished autobiography explains how Albert Divo became his riding mechanic in 1921?