Sir Anthony Berry | |
|---|---|
 1978 portrait | |
| Deputy Chief Whip Treasurer of the Household | |
| In office 17 February 1983 – 11 June 1983 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | John Stradling Thomas |
| Succeeded by | John Cope |
| Comptroller of the Household | |
| In office 30 September 1981 – 17 February 1983 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Spencer Le Marchant |
| Succeeded by | Carol Mather |
| Vice-Chamberlain of the Household | |
| In office 5 May 1979 – 30 September 1981 | |
| Prime Minister | Margaret Thatcher |
| Preceded by | Donald Coleman |
| Succeeded by | Carol Mather |
| Member of Parliament forEnfield Southgate Southgate (1964–1983) | |
| In office 15 October 1964 – 12 October 1984 | |
| Preceded by | Sir Beverley Baxter |
| Succeeded by | Michael Portillo |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Anthony George Berry (1925-02-12)12 February 1925 |
| Died | 12 October 1984(1984-10-12) (aged 59) Brighton,East Sussex, UK |
| Cause of death | Assassinated by bombing |
| Party | Conservative |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 6, includingJo (by Roche) |
| Parent |
|
| Alma mater | Christ Church, Oxford |
Sir Anthony George Berry (12 February 1925 – 12 October 1984)[1] was a BritishConservative politician. He served asMember of Parliament (MP) forEnfield Southgate and aWhip inMargaret Thatcher's government.
Berry sat in theHouse of Commons for twenty years until being killed in theBrighton hotel bombing of 1984 by theProvisional IRA.
Born atEton,Buckinghamshire, Berry was the sixth and youngest son of the newspaper magnateGomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley, and his wife Marynée Holmes.
Educated atEton College, he went up toChrist Church, Oxford (graduatingMA), before serving as aLieutenant in theWelsh Guards from 1943 to 1947.[2]
After resigning hiscommission in theGuards, Berry went into journalism. He was an Assistant Editor ofThe Sunday Times from 1952 to 1954, when he was appointed as Editor of theSunday Chronicle.[2]
Berry served asHigh Sheriff of Glamorgan for 1962/63.[3]
Standing as a Conservative, he was elected as Member of Parliament for Southgate (later Enfield Southgate) at the1964 general election,[1] and served inMargaret Thatcher's government after the Conservatives won the1979 general election asVice-Chamberlain of the Household between 1979 and 1981, then asComptroller of the Household from 1981 to 1983, and was appointedTreasurer of the Household in 1983. Berry wasknighted in December 1983.[4][5]
On 12 October 1984, Berry was murdered in theBrighton hotel bombing, when a bomb was planted at theGrand Brighton Hotel during theConservative Party Conference. He was 59.[6] Sir Anthony was survived by his wife,Lady Berry, who was injured in the blast.[5] His death occurred three days before the 20th anniversary of his first election to Parliament in 1964.
Berry dying in office triggered aby-election in Enfield Southgate, which was won by future Cabinet ministerMichael Portillo.
In September 1986,Patrick Magee, who carried out the bombing, received eight life sentences, but was released from prison in 1999 under the terms of theGood Friday Agreement.[7][8]
Since Magee's release, Berry's daughterJo, has been appointedCBE after receiving attention for her series of controversial meetings with the Brighton bomber, as part of her quest to come to terms with the bombing and, in her own words, "to bring something positive out of it". Some of their discussions were filmed for anEveryman programme, shown onBBC Two in December 2001. She has received criticism from other families of IRA victims for her liaisons.[6][9]
A ceremony was held in Berry's Enfield Southgate constituency on 12 October 2009, the 25th anniversary of the bombing, at which his widow (wife ofLord Donoughue) and her daughter Sasha unveiled a plaque in his honour at the newly-renamed Sir Anthony Berry House in Chaseville Parade,Winchmore Hill.[5]
In 1954, atWestminster, Berry married firstlythe Hon.Mary Cynthia Roche (1934–2023), a daughter ofMaurice Roche, 4th Baron Fermoy.[10] Mary's sister,Frances Shand Kydd, marriedJohn Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer, and so Berry was an uncle ofDiana, Princess of Wales.[11]
Berry and his wife Mary had four children: Alexandra Mary Bartz (born 1955), Antonia Ruth Butterworth andJoanna Cynthia Tufnell (twins, born 1957), and Edward Anthony Morys Berry (born 1960), whose son William Berry married Alicia Rose Meynell in 2024.[2]
He married secondlySarah Clifford-Turner atChelsea in 1966, having two more children: George (born 1967), and Sasha Jane (born 1969).[2]
Shortly before his death, Sir Anthony was being prosecuted for drink-driving and reckless driving after allegedly driving at two police officers who were attempting to stop his vehicle, injuring one of them; allegedly he also narrowly missed hitting two pedestrians.[12]
1983:Knight Bachelor_ribbon_-vector.svg)
1962:Commander of the Most Venerable Order of St John (CStJ) |
|
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forSouthgate 1964–1983 | Constituency renamed |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forEnfield Southgate 1983–1984 | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Vice-Chamberlain of the Household 1979–1981 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Comptroller of the Household 1981–1983 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Treasurer of the Household 1983 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Conservative Deputy Chief Whip in theHouse of Commons 1983 | Succeeded by |
