John Seymour Berry, 2nd Viscount Camrose (12 July 1909 – 15 February 1995) was a British nobleman, politician, and newspaper proprietor.

Early life

Berry was born in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

on 12 July 1909, the eldest son of William Berry, later first Viscount Camrose and first Baronet Berry of Hackwood Park, and Mary Agnes Berry, ''née'' Corns. His younger brother was Michael Berry (1911–2001). He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, where he was tutored by Sir Roy Harrod.

Career

Berry began his career working for his family's provincial paper in Newcastle. He next worked for their papers in Manchester and Glasgow. In March 1938 he joined the 11th Anti-Aircraft Light Regiment. He later commanded an independent battery in

Operation Torch Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...

when the Allied forces invaded North Africa. He was Deputy Chairman of ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was fo ...

'' from 1939–87 and Vice Chairman of

Amalgamated Press The Amalgamated Press (AP) was a British newspaper and magazine publishing company founded by journalist and entrepreneur Alfred Harmsworth (1865–1922) in 1901, gathering his many publishing ventures together under one banner. At one point the ...

from 1942 to 1959. On 10 March 1941, he was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

) for

Hitchin Hitchin () is a market town and unparished area in the North Hertfordshire Districts of England, district in Hertfordshire, England, with an estimated population of 35,842. History Hitchin is first noted as the central place of the Hicce peopl ...

in the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

held after Sir Arnold Wilson was killed on active service. He held his seat until 1945, when it was won by

Philip Asterley Jones Philip Asterley Jones (21 June 1914 – 23 October 1978) was a British solicitor and politician. Born in Duffield, Jones was educated at Tonbridge School, and then at the Law Society's School, and qualified as a solicitor in 1937. He joined t ...

(

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

). Coterminously, he served in the

City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders) The City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders) was a yeomanry regiment of the British Territorial Army, formed in 1901 from veterans of the Second Boer War. In World War I it served dismounted in the Gallipoli Campaign but reverted to the mounted r ...

. He saw active service in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, rose to the rank of

Major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

, was

mentioned in despatches To be mentioned in dispatches (or despatches, MiD) describes a member of the armed forces whose name appears in an official report written by a superior officer and sent to the high command, in which their gallant or meritorious action in the face ...

, and was awarded the

Territorial Efficiency Decoration __NOTOC__ The Territorial Decoration (TD) was a military medal of the United Kingdom awarded for long service in the Territorial Force and its successor, the Territorial Army. This award superseded the Volunteer Officer's Decoration when the Te ...

( TD).

Succession

He succeeded to his father's

viscountcy A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

and

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 15 June 1954, and took his seat in the House of Lords on 5 May 1955.

Personal life

At the age of seventy-six, and following a discreet friendship of more than thirty years, Lord Camrose married the Honourable

Joan Yarde-Buller {{Infobox noble, type , name = Joan Yarde-Buller , title = Viscountess CamrosePrincess Tajuddawlah Aga Khan The Hon. Mrs. Guinness , image = Joan Yarde-Buller.jpg , caption = , alt ...

, daughter of Sir John Yarde-Buller, 3rd Baron Churston and Jessie Yarde-Buller (''née'' Smither) Baroness Churston, then Jessie FitzGerald, Duchess of Leinster, who was perhaps better known by her stage name

Denise Orme Jessie Smither, Duchess of Leinster (25 August 1885 – 20 October 1960),Burke's Peerage, Baronetage and Knightage, 107th edition, vol. 2, ed. Charles Mosley, Burke's Peerage Ltd (2003), p. 2300 known by her stage name Denise Orme, was ...

. Lady Camrose had twice been previously married, first to Loel Guinness, and secondly to

Prince Aly Khan Prince Ali Salman Aga Khan (13 June 1911 – 12 May 1960), known as Aly Khan, was a Pakistani diplomat of Iranian and Italian descent. He was the son of the Aga Khan III, and the father of Aga Khan IV. A socialite, racehorse owner and jockey, ...

, son and heir apparent of

Aga Khan III Sultan Muhammad Shah (2 November 187711 July 1957), commonly known by his religious title Aga Khan III, was the 48th Imam of the Nizariyya. He played an important role in British Indian politics. Born to Aga Khan II in Karachi, Aga Khan III ...

. Prince Aly was disinherited and consequently Lady Camrose's son Karīm succeeded as

Aga Khan IV Shāh Karim al-Husayni (born 13 December 1936), known by the religious title Mawlānā Hazar Imam by his Ismaili followers and elsewhere as Aga Khan IV, is the 49th and current Imam of Nizari Ismailis, a denomination within Shia Islam. He ha ...

. Lady Camrose was also known as Princess Joan and Princess Tajudaullah. Lord Camrose died aged 85 in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

,Deaths England and Wales 1984-2006
/ref> without issue, on 15 February 1995. He was survived by his wife, while the

and the

were inherited by his brother,

Michael Berry, Baron Hartwell William Michael Berry, Baron Hartwell MBE (18 May 1911 – 3 April 2001), was a British newspaper proprietor and journalist. Life and career Berry was the second son of Mary Agnes (Corns) and William Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose, and was educated ...

, who disclaimed the

for life.

Arms

References

;Notes ;Sources
ThePeerage.comHistoric painting bought for the nation, ''BBC News'', 21 January 2002
*''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage, and Knightage'' (107th edn, 3 vols, Wilmington: Burke's Peerage, 2003), i, 673

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Camrose, Seymour Berry, 2nd Viscount 1909 births 1995 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford British Army personnel of World War II British newspaper publishers (people) People educated at Eton College Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1935–1945 Camrose, V2 2 City of London Yeomanry (Rough Riders) officers Seymour Berry