In 1898, the Great Horsless Carriage Company, which had constructed the bodies for the Daimler chassis had gone into liquidation and from it, a new company, called the Motor Manufacturing Company was formed. Having land leased from Daimler, they built a forge and went into production using their own engines and chassis. Also, in the same year, the original Daimler motor syndicate, which had become the British Motor Syndicate, now became the British Motor Company. By this time, it was struggling to hold onto the patents which Harry J. Lawson had originally bought and had Licensed to the Daimler Motor Company and other motor manufacturers. July 1899 saw the first motor accident in Britain, when Edwin Sewell and Major Richer were killed as the rear wheel of their 6HP Daimler collapsed and they were thrown from their car on Grove Hill, Harrow. In mid 1900, Simms had proposed a merger between Daimler Coventry and Daimler Cannstatt, but the Daimler Motor Company identity was firmly established and the board turned him down.