John Alexander Hammerton

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Sir John Alexander Hammerton (born 27 February 1871 – died London 12 May 1949) was an English statesman and author, best-known for his editorship of popular encyclopaedias published in the first half of the 20th century, such as the 10-volume New Book of Knowledge.

From 1914 to 1919, Hammerton was joint editor with HW Wilson of the periodical "The Great War:The Standard History of the All-Europe Conflict", published by the Amalgamated Press. It was lavishly illustrated with photographs and with realistic drawings which were sometimes hardly distinguishable from photographs. The first volume was largely concerned with justifying Britain's entry into the war, and with encouraging the British people to sign up and fight. It featured photographs of ruined Belgian towns and dramatic drawings of Belgian refugees fleeing in front of brutal-faced Prussian troops. Another drawing purported to show a British soldier trying to give a drink to a wounded German soldier but being shot in the back by another German.

Later volumes became more factual in tone, and less vehement in condemning the ordinary German troops. Volume 8 (1916),contained what was said to be an extract from a diary of a German soldier, showing him to be subject to all the same human problems and worries as his British counterpart, and ending "And you, my dear parents, you must be dying of worry and anguish! Oh my poor mother, if only I could hold you in my arms!"

The final chapter of the final volume (1919) was entitled "The Saving of Civilisation; Britain's Crowning Achievement". It described the millions of lives lost in the war as "a sacrifice that was not in vain".

In 1940 Hammerton offered a £1,000,000 reward to any American who would bring Hitler "alive or still breathing" to his office within 30 days [1].

He was also a contemporary and friend of Arthur Mee, about whom he wrote a biography