James Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley, GBE (7 May 1883 – 6 February 1968) was a Welsh colliery owner and

newspaper publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

Background

Berry was born the son of John Mathias and Mary Ann (''née'' Rowe) Berry, of

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil () is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Tydfil, daughter of K ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

. He was the younger brother of Henry Berry, 1st Baron Buckland, an industrialist, and William Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose, a fellow press lord.

Career

Berry entered the newspaper business in 1915, purchasing ''

The Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday 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 N ...

'' along with his second brother William Berry. In 1922, Berry bought the Scottish '' Daily Record'', its sister paper the '' Sunday Mail'', and another newspaper, the ''

Glasgow Evening News The ''Glasgow Evening News'' was an important Scottish newspaper in the early 20th century. It was founded as the ''Glasgow Evening Post'' in 1866 and became the ''Evening News'' in 1915. In 1922, Gomer Berry (later 1st Viscount Kemsley) bought ...

'', for £1 million. He formed a controlling company known as Associated Scottish Newspapers Ltd. In 1924, the Berry Brothers and Sir Edward Iliffe (later 1st Baron Iliffe) formed Allied Newspapers. The consortium's initial acquisitions included the '' Daily Dispatch'', the '' Manchester Evening Chronicle'', the '' Sunday Chronicle'', and the '' Sunday Graphic'', as well as a string of other newspapers across the country, including the Welsh newspaper the '' Western Mail''. In 1927, the Berrys purchased ''

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

'' from Lord Burnham. In 1945, after the dissolution of Allied Newspapers, Kemsley founded Kemsley Newspapers, which owned ''

'', '' The Daily Sketch'' and '' The Sunday Graphic'' amongst other titles. Berry was chairman of the

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency ...

News Agency from 1951 to 1958. In 1954, Berry was part of the Kemsley-Winnick consortium, which won the initial ITV weekend contracts for the Midlands and the North of England. Berry had cold feet over the

financial risk Financial risk is any of various types of risk associated with financing, including financial transactions that include company loans in risk of default. Often it is understood to include only downside risk, meaning the potential for financi ...

, and withdrew, causing the consortium to collapse. In 1959, Kemsley Newspapers was bought by Lord Thomson, ironically enabled by Thomson's profits from Scottish Television. At the time of the sale, Lord Kemsley was editor-in-chief of ''The Sunday Times''; his son Lionel Berry, 2nd Viscount Kemsley, was deputy chairman.)

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 14th ...

in 1928, and was appointed as an Officer of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in 1931. In 1936, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Kemsley, of Farnham Royal in the County of Buckingham, and advanced to Viscount Kemsley, of Dropmore in the County of Buckingham, in 1945. In 1929 he was appointed High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire and in 1959, a Knight Grand Cross of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(GBE) for "political and public service".

Marriages and children

Lord Kemsley married twice. He married firstly in 1907 Mary Lilian Holmes, daughter of Horace George Holmes and Mary Johnston née Macgregor, with whom he had six sons and a daughter: * (Geoffrey) Lionel Berry, 2nd Viscount Kemsley (29 June 1909 - 28 February 1999) *

Major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...

Hon Denis Gomer Berry (11 July 1911 - 30 September 1983), married firstly Rosemary Leonora Ruth de Rothschild.Rosemary Leonara Ruth de Rothschild (1913-2013)
Rothschild Archive He and his second wife, Pamela Wellesley, were the parents of Richard Berry, 3rd Viscount Kemsley. * Hon William Neville Berry (16 June 1914 - 19 May 1998) * Hon John Douglas Berry (1 May 1916 -

killed in action Killed in action (KIA) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their personnel at the hands of enemy or hostile forces at the moment of action. The United States Department of Defense, for example, ...

10 October 1944) * Hon Mary Pamela Berry (13 June 1918 - 29 January 1998) * Flt Lt Hon Herbert Oswald Berry (13 June 1918 - 8 June 1952) * Hon Sir Anthony George Berry (12 February 1925 - 12 October 1984) His first wife died on 1 February 1928 and on 30 April 1931 he married Marie Edith Dresselhuys (''née'' Merandon du Plessis), daughter of E. N. Merandon du Plessis, heir of an old British colonial sugar estate in

Mauritius Mauritius, officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, about off the southeastern coast of East Africa, east of Madagascar. It includes the main island (also called Mauritius), as well as Rodrigues, Ag ...

, and mother of socialite Ghislaine Dresselhuys from her first marriage. There were no children of this marriage.

Death

Viscount Kemsley died in 1968 at the age of 84 and was buried in St Anne's churchyard, Dropmore. Marie Edith, Viscountess Kemsley OBE was buried with him following her death on 12 September 1976. He was succeeded in the viscountcy and other titles by his eldest son Lionel. His youngest son,

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

politician the Honourable Sir Anthony Berry, was killed by the IRA in the 1984 Brighton hotel bombing.

Works

As owner of Kemsley Newspapers, Viscount Kemsley made several written contributions to his in-house journal ''The Kemsley Writer''. Kemsley also oversaw the publication of the large format hardcover book ''The Kemsley Manual of Journalism'' (Cassell, 1950). Sub-titled ''A Comprehensive Guide to the Practice and Principles of Modern Journalism'', this featured an introduction by Kemsley and an essay from his Foreign Manager

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

, later the author of the

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

novels.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kemsley, Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount 1883 births 1968 deaths Berry, Gomer British newspaper publishers (people) Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire Peers created by Edward VIII 20th-century Welsh businesspeople Welsh journalists Officers of the Order of St John High sheriffs of Buckinghamshire Gomer Berry 1 Viscounts created by George VI British businesspeople in the coal industry