ABSTRACT
Hatry spent the rest of the 1914–1918 war developing his bank into an organisation which he could rely upon to manage new share issues and his other share trading operations. Throughout 1917 and 1918, he and his associates acquired interests in shipbuilding yards with a view to profiting from the expected demand from shipowners at the end of the war to replace vessels lost through enemy action. These acquisitions were financed by selling shares off-market as the stock market activity was restricted during the war. The activities were resented by stock exchange members, who were bound by the government’s restrictions and by the Treasury. After the end of the war, Hatry turned to launching a series of new share issues. Hatry developed a reputation for bending the law and the stock exchange’s rules to achieve the objectives of the vendors wishing to sell their shares. His key skill lay in misleading potential investors about the risks presented by an issue.
Partly through the profits which flowed from these issues, but also through speculating in the market, Hatry had made his first fortune by the end of 1919. In December 1919, Hatry was only 31, but had acquired the usual symptoms of wealth: a house in Mayfair, a country house, racing horses and what was reputed to be the fastest racing yacht of its time, Westward.
