Hammill spoke in defence of John Burns in trials after the 1887 Trafalgar Square Riot, was active in the London Trades Council (seconding Burns's support for the 1891 Scottish rail strike)[REF] and in the TUC, and he would speak indoors and outdoors to crowds of up to 6,000 people [REF].
In 1894, Hammill became a full-time organiser for the Fabian Society in Durham [REF].