William Ewart Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose DL (23 June 1879 – 15 June 1954) was a British peer and

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...

publisher.

Life and career

Berry was born in Merthyr Tydfil in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, the second of three sons of Mary Ann (Rowe) and John Mathias Berry. Berry started his working life as a

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

and established his own paper, '' Advertising World'', in 1901. Berry made his fortune with the publication of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

magazine ''

The War Illustrated ''The War Illustrated'' was a British war magazine published in London by William Berry (later Viscount Camrose and owner of ''The Daily Telegraph''). It was first released on 22 August 1914, eighteen days after the United Kingdom declared war ...

'', which at its peak had a circulation of 750,000. In partnership with his younger brother,

Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley James Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley, GBE (7 May 1883 – 6 February 1968) was a Welsh colliery owner and newspaper publisher. Background Berry was born the son of John Mathias and Mary Ann (née Rowe) Berry, of Merthyr Tydfil in Wales. He w ...

(the elder brother was

Seymour Berry, 1st Baron Buckland Henry Seymour Berry, 1st Baron Buckland (17 September 1877 – 23 May 1928), was a Welsh financier and industrialist. Background The eldest of three sons, all born in Merthyr Tydfil to solicitor John Mathias Berry (born 2 May 1847; died 9 Januar ...

), he purchased ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, w ...

'' in 1915 and was its

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

until 1937. In 1919 the pair also purchased the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

''. In 1924 the Berry brothers and Sir Edward Iliffe set up Allied Newspapers and purchased the ''

Daily Dispatch The ''Daily Dispatch'' is a South African newspaper published in East London in the province of Eastern Cape. The weekend edition is titled ''Saturday Dispatch''. Founded in 1872 as the ''East London Dispatch'', the ''Daily Dispatch'' is the Eas ...

'', the ''

Manchester Evening Chronicle ''Manchester Evening Chronicle'' was a newspaper established by Sir Edward Hulton, a Manchester City chairman, a newspaper proprietor and a racehorse owner. It started publication in 1897, was renamed ''Evening Chronicle'' in 1914 but stayed in ...

'', the ''

Sunday Chronicle The ''Sunday Chronicle'' was a newspaper in the United Kingdom, published from 1885 to 1955. The newspaper was founded in Manchester by Edward Hulton in August 1885. He was known for his sporting coverage, already publishing the ''Sporting Chro ...

'', the '' Sunday News'', and the '' Sunday Graphic'', as well as a string of other newspapers across the country. In

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

they merged four newspapers into the '' Western Mail''. In 1927 they purchased ''

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 f ...

'' from the 2nd

Harry Levy-Lawson, 1st Viscount Burnham Harry Lawson Webster Levy-Lawson, 1st Viscount Burnham, (18 December 1862 – 20 July 1933) was a British newspaper proprietor. He was originally a Liberal politician before joining the Liberal Unionist Party in the late 1890s. He sat in the Hou ...

, with William Berry becoming its editor-in-chief. In 1937 they purchased its rival, ''

The Morning Post ''The Morning Post'' was a conservative daily newspaper published in London from 1772 to 1937, when it was acquired by ''The Daily Telegraph''. History The paper was founded by John Bell. According to historian Robert Darnton, ''The Morning Po ...

''. In 1926, the Berry brothers/Allied Newspapers purchased

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 ...

(AP),"Amalgamated Press,"
''Grace's Guide to British Industrial History''. Retrieved 19 Apr. 2021. which had been started by

Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe (15 July 1865 – 14 August 1922), was a British newspaper and publishing magnate. As owner of the '' Daily Mail'' and the ''Daily Mirror'', he was an early developer of popular journa ...

, in 1901 (Harmsworth had died in 1922). Berry bought out his partners in 1937 and amalgamated ''The Morning Post'' with ''The Daily Telegraph'', with himself as chairman and editor-in-chief. His sons Seymour, the 2nd Viscount, and subsequently

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

, continued to run the newspaper until 1986; in addition, Seymour was Vice Chairman of Amalgamated Press from 1942 to 1959 (when AP was acquired by the Mirror Group). He provided financial assistance to Sir

Winston Churchill Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...

after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. He and ten other wealthy well-wishers each donated £5,000 to the Churchills, allowing them to keep their home,

Chartwell Chartwell is a country house near Westerham, Kent, in South East England. For over forty years it was the home of Winston Churchill. He bought the property in September 1922 and lived there until shortly before his death in January 1965. In t ...

, on the condition that it would be presented to the nation upon their deaths.

Honours

Berry was created a

baronet 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 14t ...

in the

1921 Birthday Honours The 1921 Birthday Honours were appointments by King George V to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of the British Empire. The appointments were made to celebrate the official birthday of the King, and were ...

. He was raised to the peerage as Baron Camrose, of Long Cross in the County of Surrey, on 19 June 1929, and advanced to Viscount Camrose, of Hackwood Park in the

County of Southampton Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire is ...

, on 20 January 1941.

Family

Berry married Mary Agnes Corns in 1905. They had eight children together: *

Hon. ''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' (American English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific Style (ma ...

Mary Cecilia Berry (1906 – 24 June 1996) * (John) Seymour Berry, 2nd Viscount Camrose (12 July 1909 – 15 February 1995) * (William) Michael Berry, Baron Hartwell, 3rd Viscount Camrose (18 May 1911 – 3 April 2001) * Hon. Sheila Berry (1913–1992) * Hon. Molly Patricia Berry (1915 – 31 August 1995) * Hon. Rodney Mathias Berry (29 April 1917 – 10 March 1963) * Lt Col. Hon. Julian Berry (24 May 1920 – 1988) * Hon. Diana Phyllis Berry (1924 – March 1995) Berry died in 1954 and was succeeded in the viscountcy, barony and baronetcy by his eldest son, Seymour. Berry's great-grandson is actor

Joshua Sasse Joshua Seymour Sasse ( ) (born 9 December 1987) is a British actor. He is known for playing Sir Galavant in ABC's '' Galavant''. Early life Sasse was born in Westminster, England to poet Dominic Sasse and Mary Rosalind Macauley. He has an ol ...

.Mendick, Robert
"Revealed: the Tragic Past of Kylie Minogue's Lover,"
''The Telegraph'' (18 December 2015).

Arms

References

*Biography, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'' * ''The House the Berrys Built'' by

Duff Hart-Davis Peter Duff Hart-Davis (born 3 June 1936), generally known as Duff Hart-Davis is a British biographer, naturalist and journalist, who writes for ''The Independent'' newspaper. He is married to Phyllida Barstow and has one son and one daughter, th ...

. Concerns the history of the '' Daily Telegraph'' from its inception to 1990. * ''William Camrose: Giant of Fleet Street'' by his son Lord Hartwell. Illustrated biography with black-and-white photographic plates and includes an index.
"William Berry (Lord Camrose) 1879 – 1954,"
''Cynon Culture''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Camrose, William Berry, 1st Viscount Berry, William Welsh male journalists 20th-century Welsh businesspeople British newspaper editors British newspaper publishers (people) British magazine founders Conservative Party (UK) hereditary peers Deputy Lieutenants of Hampshire 1 1879 births 1954 deaths William Berry Barons created by George V Viscounts created by George VI