Page:The Story of the House of Cassell (book).djvu/129

 Just before the Great War Mr. Arthur E. Watson was appointed to take charge of the Book section of the Publishing Department, and almost simultaneously with the official ending of the war he was promoted to the headship of the department. In special recognition of his services he was subsequently elected a member of the Board of Directors.

In the autumn of 1920 another stage was reached in the Cassell history by the acquisition of the bulk of the shares by Sir William Berry, Bart., and his brother, Mr. J. Gomer Berry, who had already made their mark in the publishing world. The offer put forward was so attractive that the Directors had no hesitation in recommending its acceptance by the shareholders, who, with practical unanimity, acted on the advice given. One of the conditions of the arrangement was that the management should be continued on the lines which had proved so successful in recent years, and only one or two changes took place in the Directorate. Sir Clarence Smith retired from the Chairmanship, and his place was taken by Sir Arthur Spurgeon.

The linking up of Cassell's with the Berry group brought fresh power to the House, and one of the first results was an extension of its operations in the Dominions, particularly in Australasia. The Cassell outposts under the Southern Cross have from the first been most successful—due largely to the enterprise and ability displayed by Mr. Charles Gardner and by his son, who followed his father in control. Mr. Charles E. Gardner, the present Manager, entered upon his duties in 1915, and it is due chiefly to his initiative that recently new and more commodious premises have been erected as the Cassell headquarters both in Melbourne and in Sydney.