 Villa was born in London to an Italian father and a Scottish mother.A gifted artist, Villa drew many pictures of an automotive nature, and through his uncle he found employment as a riding mechanic with the Italian racing driver Giulio Foresti who held the British franchise for the Itala automobile.Between 1915 and 1922 Villa and Foresti were lucky to escape serious injury after a number of serious incidents when motor racing, but Villa's luck ran out and he was seriously burnt when a generator exploded during preparations for the French Grand Prix at Strasbourg in which Foresti was to drive a French Ballot.