Walter Thomas Frederick Hassan OBE, C.Eng., M.I. Mech.E. (25 April 1905 – 12 July 1996) was a distinguished UK automotive engineer who took part in the design and development of three very successful engines: Jaguar XK, Coventry Climax and Jaguar V12, as well as the ERA racing car. Early life Hassan was born in London where his father, of Northern Irish descent, owned a clothes store in Holloway. His natural interest was always in mechanical things. As it was told, his uncle encouraged him to be a creator since his uncle was building model ships. He studied at the Northern Polytechnic Institute (subsequently renamed and amalgamated by stages into London Metropolitan University) and then Hackney Technical Institute of Engineering. The Regent Street Polytechnic (now incorporated into the University of Westminster) has also been named. Bentley Hassan's first job was as a 15 year-old shop boy in W. O. Bentley's newly founded Bentley Motors, employee No. 14. He was a fitter in the engine shop then in the chassis shop, gaining a complete experience of the 3-litre cars then in production. He eventually moved to road testing working under the head of experimental department (today's R&D) Frank Clement, the company's professional racing driver, and was a riding mechanic in some races. In the off-season he was part of the Bentley Motors service department. Establishing himself as the best Bentley mechanic, he was allotted to Woolf Barnato, their top driver and Bentley Motors chairman and shareholder. They established a close and lasting friendship. After it was put into liquidation and taken over by Rolls-Royce at the end of 1931 Hassan left Bentley Motors and worked for Barnato. In 1933, he started to build a racing car that would become known as Barnato Hassan and was one of the fastest cars ever to lap Brooklands. Later he developed a car for Bill Pacey, known as the Pacey-Hassan. It was a success on the British racing circuits in the 1936 season. By now he had become a family man and accordingly sought out more stable employment. He had married in 1933 and he went on to have four children. ERA Hassan then spent time at Raymond Mays' ERA at Bourne in Lincolnshire working there with Peter Berthon on engine development and at Brooklands with Thompson and Taylor on ERA chassis development. The vast majority of prewar ERAs are still in existence and they have