Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley
James Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley | |
|---|---|
| Born | Template:Birth date Merthyr Tydfil, Wales |
| Died | February 6, 1968 (aged 84) |
| Occupation(s) | Industrialist, newspaper proprietor |
| Known for | Ownership of Kemsley Newspapers, chairman of Reuters News Agency |
James Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley, GBE (7 May 1883 – 6 February 1968), was a Welsh industrialist in coal mining and a prominent newspaper proprietor.
Background
Born to John Mathias Berry and Mary Ann (née Rowe) in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, Berry was the younger sibling of notable figures: Henry Berry, 1st Baron Buckland, an industrial magnate, and William Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose, a distinguished press baron.
Career
Berry ventured into the newspaper business in 1915 when he and his brother William acquired The Sunday Times. In 1922, he expanded his media holdings by purchasing the Scottish newspapers Daily Record, Sunday Mail, and Glasgow Evening News for £1 million, establishing Associated Scottish Newspapers Ltd.
Two years later, in 1924, the Berry brothers joined forces with Sir Edward Iliffe to form Allied Newspapers, through which they obtained several publications including the Daily Dispatch, Manchester Evening Chronicle, Sunday Chronicle, Sunday Graphic, and Wales' Western Mail. Their acquisitions continued in 1927 with the purchase of The Daily Telegraph from Lord Burnham.
Following the dissolution of Allied Newspapers in 1945, Kemsley launched Kemsley Newspapers, overseeing titles such as The Sunday Times, The Daily Sketch, and The Sunday Graphic among others.
He held the position of chairman at the Reuters News Agency between 1951 and 1958. In 1954, Kemsley became part of the Kemsley-Winnick consortium awarded initial ITV weekend franchises for the Midlands and Northern England regions; however, financial difficulties led to his withdrawal and the consortium's subsequent collapse.
In 1959, Lord Thomson acquired Kemsley Newspapers, financing the purchase with profits from Scottish Television. At that juncture, Lord Kemsley was serving as editor-in-chief of The Sunday Times, while his son Lionel Berry occupied the role of deputy chairman.
Honours
Berry was granted a baronetcy in 1928 and named Officer of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in 1931. He was ennobled as Baron Kemsley of Farnham Royal, Buckinghamshire in 1936 and elevated to Viscount Kemsley of Dropmore in 1945. Additionally, he fulfilled duties as High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1929 and received the Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire (GBE) in 1959 in recognition of his political and public contributions.
Marriages and children
Lord Kemsley entered into two marriages. His first union in 1907 with Mary Lilian Holmes resulted in six sons and one daughter:
- (Geoffrey) Lionel Berry, 2nd Viscount Kemsley (1909–1999)
- Major Hon Denis Gomer Berry (1911–1983), father to Richard Berry, 3rd Viscount Kemsley
- Hon William Neville Berry (1914–1998)
- Hon John Douglas Berry (1916–1944), who died in military service
- Hon Mary Pamela Berry (1918–1998)
- Flt Lt Hon Herbert Oswald Berry (1918–1952)
- Hon Sir Anthony George Berry (1925–1984), Conservative Party politician
Following Mary’s passing in 1928, he remarried in 1931 to Marie Edith Dresselhuys, heiress to a sugar estate in Mauritius and mother to socialite Ghislaine Dresselhuys. This marriage produced no offspring.
Death
Viscount Kemsley passed away in 1968 at age 84 and was interred at St Anne's churchyard in Dropmore. His widow, Marie Edith, Viscountess Kemsley OBE, died in 1976 and was laid to rest beside him. The viscountcy was inherited by his eldest son Lionel. His youngest son, Sir Anthony Berry—a Conservative politician—was killed during the 1984 Brighton hotel bombing carried out by the IRA.
Works
In his capacity as proprietor of Kemsley Newspapers, Viscount Kemsley played an active role in producing the company’s internal periodical, The Kemsley Writer. Additionally, he supervised the release of the substantial hardcover volume The Kemsley Manual of Journalism (Cassell, 1950), an extensive handbook on contemporary journalism that included his own foreword alongside an essay by Foreign Manager Ian Fleming, who would later gain renown as the creator of the James Bond series.