Remembering Paul Hamlyn 100 years on

“There has to be a better way” was one of Paul Hamlyn’s favourite mottos. It spoke as much to his success as a publisher, focusing on making books and music widely accessible to all, as it did to his approach to philanthropy. In both, Paul held firm the belief that to make the world better, it was often necessary to challenge traditional ways of doing things and to take risks; ideas which remain central to the work of the Foundation today. 

Much of Paul Hamlyn Foundation’s work is informed by Paul’s own life and interests. His formative years were shaped by the experience of being a refugee. Born in Berlin in 1926 to a Jewish family, he and his family were forced to flee Germany to escape Nazi persecution in 1933, eventually settling in London. He started his first enterprise in 1949, selling books from a stall in Camden Market.

Hamlyn Books grew from these modest beginnings, later expanding to Octopus and other imprints that would make him the most successful popular publisher of his generation and enable him to set up the charitable foundation in his name in 1987. Described by publishing historian Iain Stevenson as ​‘a natural entrepreneur with a flair for design and an instinctive sense of what the public wanted,’* Paul understood that post-war Britain was hungry for knowledge in accessible, inexpensive formats and he imagined forms of publishing for a new readership. 

Although immensely successful, Paul remained in many ways an outsider who loved nothing more than challenging orthodoxy and out-thinking the establishment. His daughter Jane Hamlyn recalled that ​“he loved to take risks, to do the unexpected by backing a person or an idea that no one else would support. He was always determined to look forward rather than back.” This entrepreneurial spirit lives on in our Ideas and Pioneers Fund, which gives many individuals and organisations their first ever grant. Encouraged by this early backing, many have gone on to receive substantial grants from other funders and have significant impact. As another funder put it: ​“If PHF backs them, that means other people will back them.”

*Book Makers: British Publishing in the Twentieth Century, Iain Stevenson, 2010, p. 137; published by The British Library

Paul’s business success was built on making knowledge, music and the arts much more widely accessible. This ethos carried over into his desire to see his wealth deployed to open doors for others, enabling experiences once reserved for a few to be enjoyed by the many. One early example was the introduction of Hamlyn Nights at the Royal Opera House, offering discounted and free tickets so the place could be filled with people who had never had the opportunity to see a performance there before. The initiative encouraged many other organisations to focus on how to create greater access to the arts across the UK.

This spirit remains central to the Foundation’s work today. Through our funding programmes for organisations in the UK working in the arts, with young people and with refugee and migrant groups, and our programmes in India, we aim to challenge injustice and inequity. We offer long-term backing to organisations that we believe will build hope and create opportunity for people in communities across the UK, and help bring about a more just future.

When Paul died in 2001, he left much of his estate to Paul Hamlyn Foundation, making it one of the UK’s largest grant-making organisations. His bequest made it possible for the Foundation to take risks, be bold, and to be independent. 

Over the past 25 years, we have grown significantly, and the Foundation has given more than £500m to many thousands of exceptional individuals and organisations tackling injustice and inequity. A century after Paul’s birth, his belief in the importance of finding a better way still drives the work we do as a Foundation and will continue to do so for many years to come.

Image: Paul Hamlyn. Photo credit: Antony Armstrong-Jones.