William Hinds

William Hinds
Born	1887 England
Died	1957 (aged 69–70) Guildford, Surrey, England
Occupation	Studio executive
Children	Anthony Hinds Bill Hinds Geoffrey Hinds Shirley Hinds Susan Hinds

William "Will" Hinds (1887–1957), stage name Will Hammer, was one of the founders of Hammer Film Productions.

Hinds was a jeweller from London who, with his brother Frank, owned and ran Hinds Jewellers. Hinds and his brother had different business priorities, and shortly after the First World War they divided the business in two.

Both businesses were successful. Frank's part grew into the national jeweller F. Hinds, which has over 100 branches across England & Wales and is still owned and managed by the Hinds family.

Hinds continued to expand his business until he owned 25 jeweller's shops. He diversified into other types of retail, including operating barbers above some of the jewellery shops.

Hinds became involved in music halls and the theatre. His involvement included owning a number of seaside theatres, for example the West Cliff Theatre in Clacton, and performing onstage as a comedian, although it was said that the latter was not his greatest strength.

He also ran summer concert parties in conjunction with Jack Payne, the famous bandleader, and led a troupe called Will Hammer's Players, taking his stage name of Hammer from Hammersmith, where he lived.

In 1957 he set up Cascade Entertainments Ltd with theatre impresario George Baines and produced "Big Splash" Aqua Show at The Derby Baths in Blackpool. The show featured the singer Robert Earle and a troupe of divers and swimmers and was performed for the summer season. It was during the rehearsals for this show that he died following the bicycle accident.

Success with his theatres led Hinds to diversify into the increasingly popular motion picture industry.

In November 1934, Hinds registered his own film company, Hammer Productions Ltd.

...
Wikipedia