All three sons of
JOHN MATHIAS
BERRY
(b.
2 May 1847
in
Camrose, Pemb.
; d.
9 Jan. 1917
) and his wife
Mary Ann
(née
Rowe
, of
Pembroke Dock
), who moved to
Merthyr Tydfil
in
1874
, were created
peers
.
J. M.
Berry
worked on the railway
and as an
accountant
before becoming an
estate agent
and
auctioneer
in
1894
. He was the
mayor
when
King
George
V
visited the town in
1912
. The foundation stone of a new
Salvation Army Citadel
in
Merthyr
was laid in memory of him in
1936
and he is also commemorated by the
J.M. Berry Technical College
which was built by his eldest son.
HENRY SEYMOUR
BERRY
,
1st Baron BUCKLAND
(
1877
-
1928
)
industrialist
;
their eldest son, b.
17 Sept. 1877
in
Gwaelod-y-garth
,
Merthyr Tydfil
. In
1892
he was a
monitor
at
Abermorlais Boys' School
and passed his examination to become a
pupil teacher
. Four years later he was a certificated
assistant teacher
there but left on
1 Sept. 1897
to work with his father. In
1915
he was asked to assist
D. A.
Thomas
(
Lord Rhondda
; see
DWB
, 942-3)
manage his estate, with the result that when the latter joined the
cabinet
in
1916
his numerous industrial companies were entrusted to the care of
H. S.
Berry
. This proved to be a turning point in
Berry
's life. Within three years he became
director of no fewer than 66 companies
. These were mostly coalmines and shipping companies, including
John Lysaght, Ltd.
makers of galvanised sheets, with steelworks, rolling mills and colliery interests, which he had recently acquired in conjunction with his brother
William Ewert
Berry
,
D. R.
Llewellyn
(see Supplement below)
and
Viscountess Rhondda
(
THOMAS
,
Margaret Haig
, see below)
. This was the biggest industrial transaction in the history of
Wales
, involving five million pounds. He was
chairman of the company
until it became part of
Guest, Keen and Nettlefold
in
1920
, of which he became
chairman
in
1927
. He did much to reorganize
GKN
and introduced various management committees, but he was not a widely popular man, being resolutely opposed to trade unions, though he did not take part in the public statements of
coalowners
. His chief contact with the newspaper industry was as
director
of the
Western Mail
1920-27
. He m.,
5 Sept. 1907
,
Gwladys Mary
, eldest daughter of
Simon
Sandbrook
of
Merthyr Tydfil
and they had five daughters. In
1922
he bought
Buckland
,
Bwlch, Breck.
and went there to live, subsequently becoming a
J.P.
for that county as well as for the borough of
Merthyr Tydfil
. He was a
generous benefactor
to his native town, to which he gave public swimming baths, a new wing to the hospital and many smaller gifts to assist underpaid
pastors
,
ex-service men
and other poor inhabitants of the borough. In
1926
he and his brothers granted
Merthyr hospital
£750 per annum for 7 years. He was also a
benefactor
of
Brecon Memorial College
, the university college at
Cardiff
, and the
National Museum of Wales
to which he was appointed a member of the
Court of Governors
shortly before his death. In
1923
he was granted the
freedom of the borough of Merthyr Tydfil
, and was created
first Baron Buckland of Bwlch
in
1926
. He d.
23 May 1928
after a
fall from a horse
.
WILLIAM EWERT
BERRY
,
1st Viscount CAMROSE
(
1879
-
1954
),
newspaper proprietor and editor
;
the second son, b.
23 June 1879
. When he was 14 years old he commenced five years' apprenticeship as a
journalist
on
The Merthyr Tydfil Times
and other
south Wales
newspapers before going to
London
to work as a
reporter
. He was unemployed for three months and never forgot this chastening experience when dealing with his staff in later years. In
1901
, with a loan of £100 from his elder brother, he started an entirely new periodical,
Advertising World
. He then asked his younger brother,
JAMES GOMER
BERRY
, to come to assist him with the second issue, thus starting a partnership which lasted over 35 years. Four years later the periodical was sold to enable them to set up a small publishing company,
Ewart, Seymour and Co., Ltd.
; they also acquired their first newspaper,
The Sunday Times
, which was losing money at the time.
W.E.
Berry
was its
editor-in-chief
,
1915-36
. In
1924
, with
Sir
E.M.
(later
Lord
)
Iliffe
they founded
Allied Newspapers
. The next big purchase was the
Amalgamated Press
in
1926
, which included a large number of non-political periodicals, a book section, two printing works and the
Imperial Paper Mills
. The following year they bought
Edward Lloyd, Ltd.
, one of the largest paper mills in the world, and also their first ‘heavy’
London
daily newspaper,
Daily Telegraph
, with
W.E.
Berry
becoming
editor-in-chief
. They now controlled 25 newspapers, and about 70 periodicals. Competition was fierce in the
1930
s but instead of trying to attract readers with gifts, as other newspapers did, they decided to change the format of the
Daily Telegraph
, to maintain the quality of their news coverage, and to halve the price from 2d.
to a penny; the circulation doubled immediately to 200,000 and grew to well over a million copies by
1949
. In
1937
the three partners decided to go their separate ways, the
Daily Telegraph
,
Financial Times
and the
Amalgamated Press
being taken by
Lord Camrose
. He was a distinguished-looking person, accessible, good-tempered and a
gifted speaker
. He maintained contact with his home town and in conjunction with his brothers
rescued some local coal mines from closure
, to their own loss. In
1936
he and his younger brother, then
Lord KEMSLEY
, presented a new clock tower to
Merthyr parish church
. He was
director of several companies
in
south Wales
and became a
governor
of
Christ College
,
Brecon
in
1929
. He was the
author
of
London newspapers: their owners and controllers
(
1939
) and
British newspapers and their controllers
(
1947
). In
1905
he m.
Mary Agnes
, elder daughter of
Thomas
Corns
, and they had four daughters, and four sons who also became
directors of parts of the family business
. In
1921
he was created
baronet
,
first Baron Camrose of Long Cross, Virginia Water
in
1929
and elevated
first Viscount Camrose of Hackwood Park, Basingstoke
in
1941
. He d.
15 June 1954
in
Southampton
; a tablet has been placed in the crypt of
St. Paul's Cathedral
in memory of him.
JAMES GOMER
BERRY
,
1st Viscount KEMSLEY
(
1883
-
1968
),
newspaper proprietor
;
the youngest son, b.
7 May 1883
. He was educated at
Abermorlais school
and was one of the first pupils to enter
Merthyr Tydfil county intermediate grammar school
. At his brother
William
's request he went to
London
when he was 18 years old to assist with
Advertising World
and his career for the next 36 years was closely connected with that of his brother, he too becoming
director
and
chairman of many companies
. When they divided the business,
Lord Kemsley
became
chairman
of
Allied Newspapers
, (renamed
Kemsley Newspapers
in
1943
). The group owned 26 papers, the holding being maintained at much the same size over 22 years, making him the largest
newspaper owner
in the
United Kingdom
. From the start
Lord Kemsley
concentrated his energies on the
Sunday Times
, and once he was in sole command he became
editor-in-chief
and the circulation trebled. In
1947-49
he gave robust evidence before the
royal commission
on the press. He started the
Kemsley editorial plan
to train journalists and wrote the introduction to
The Kemsley manual of journalism
(
1947
). In
1959
he sold all his holdings in
Kemsley Newspapers
to
Roy
Thomson
and went to live in
Monte Carlo
. As already mentioned, he too maintained connection with his native town. He succeeded his eldest brother as
president
of
Merthyr General Hospital
1928-49
, and received the
freedom of Merthyr Tydfil
in
1955
; he was
president
of the
Football Association of Wales
1946-60
, and of the university college at
Cardiff
1945-50
. Among the many honours he received were hon.
LL.D.
degrees from the
Universities of Wales
and
Manchester
. He m. (1),
4 July 1907
,
Mary Lilian
(d.
1 Feb 1928
) daughter of
Horace George
Holmes
,
Brondesbury Park
,
London
, by whom he had six sons and a daughter. He m. (2),
20 Apr. 1931
,
Edith
, formerly wife of
C.W.
Dresselhuys
. He was created
Baronet
in
1928
, a week before his first wife died,
first Baron Kemsley of Farnham
Royal
in
1936
,
first Viscount Kemsley of Dropmore
in
1945
, and
G.B.E.
in
1959
. He d. in
Monte Carlo
,
6 Feb. 1968
.
