Hersham and Walton Motors (HWM) is the world's longest established Aston Martin business, having acquired the franchise in 1951. As a racing car constructor, HWM competed in Formula One and Formula Two, and in sports car racing. Motor Racing Hersham and Walton Motors was founded in 1938 by John Heath, an excellent race driver and talented engineer. Heath was joined by George Abecassis in 1946. Together, they moved the business into a building based on New Zealand Avenue in Walton on Thames which was previously used by Vickers during the war as part of their aircraft construction facility. George Abecassis and John Heath went racing together from 1946 and in 1948 they built a streamlined sports racing car on the chassis of a Sports Alta, and thus embarked upon the construction of racing cars and racing sports cars at the Walton-on-Thames works. The 1948 car gave them encouraging results and so new car, this time called an HW-Alta, was constructed and raced in 1949; this car was sufficiently successful to convince the partners to embark upon building a full team of cars for the 1950 Formula Two season of British and continental events: these cars were known as HWMs. They were the first British team to find international success after WW2 which is almost forgotten. The operated with a very limited budget from their little garage in Walton-on-Thames. Over HWM's seven-year life as a racing car manufacturer less than two dozen were built, but some 70 per cent of the entire production survives today. The HWM leadership had a skill for spotting young talent. There is a remarkable list of drivers that raced for the team including Duncan Hamilton, Peter Collins, Harry Schell, Lance Macklin and Paul Frère. This is list is far from exhaustive but perhaps the most famous name was that of Stirling Moss. Before driving for HWM, Stirling was a privateer racing a Cooper. He was offered his first professional drive at HWM and went on to race for the team for nearly two years. His talent helped the team to gain results that were beyond expectation. The HWM's four-cylinder Alta engine lacked the power of most of its rivals, but its all-independent chassis handled well, and Stirling's budding genius exploited it to the full. He finished third at Reims behind Ascari's Ferrari and Simon's Gordini, and, unbelievably, third in the F1 race at Bari behind the