The Viscount Camrose | |
|---|---|
 Sir William Berry, c. 1920–1925 | |
| Born | William Ewart Berry (1879-06-23)23 June 1879 |
| Died | 15 June 1954(1954-06-15) (aged 74) |
| Occupation | Publisher |
| Known for | Advertising World The War Illustrated Western Mail Allied Newspapers |
| Title | 1st Viscount Camrose |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 8, includingSeymour Berry, 2nd Viscount Camrose andMichael Berry, Baron Hartwell |
| Parent(s) | Mary Ann (Rowe) and John Mathias Berry |
| Relatives | brothers:Seymour Berry, 1st Baron Buckland, andGomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley |
William Ewart Berry, 1st Viscount Camrose,DL (23 June 1879 – 15 June 1954)[1] was a British peer andnewspaper publisher.
Berry was born inMerthyr Tydfil inWales, the second of three sons of Mary Ann (Rowe) and John Mathias Berry. Berry started his working life as ajournalist and established his own paper,Advertising World, in 1901. Berry made his fortune with the publication of theFirst World War magazineThe War Illustrated, which at its peak had a circulation of 750,000. In partnership with his younger brother,Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley (the elder brother wasSeymour Berry, 1st Baron Buckland), he purchasedThe Sunday Times in 1915 and was itseditor-in-chief until 1937. In 1919 the pair also purchased theFinancial Times.
In 1924 the Berry brothers andSir Edward Iliffe set upAllied Newspapers and purchased theDaily Dispatch, theManchester Evening Chronicle, theSunday Chronicle, theSunday News, and theSunday Graphic, as well as a string of other newspapers across the country. InCardiff they merged four newspapers into theWestern Mail. In 1927 they purchasedThe Daily Telegraph from the 2ndHarry Levy-Lawson, 1st Viscount Burnham, with William Berry becoming its editor-in-chief. In 1937 they purchased its rival,The Morning Post.
In 1926, the Berry brothers/Allied Newspapers purchasedAmalgamated Press (AP),[2] which had been started byAlfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, in 1901 (Harmsworth had died in 1922).
Berry bought out his partners in 1937 and amalgamatedThe Morning Post withThe Daily Telegraph, with himself as chairman and editor-in-chief. His sonsSeymour, the 2nd Viscount, and subsequentlyMichael, 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 theMirror Group).[3]
He provided financial assistance to SirWinston Churchill after theSecond World War. He and ten other wealthy well-wishers each donated £5,000 to the Churchills, allowing them to keep their home,Chartwell, on the condition that it would be presented to the nation upon their deaths.
Berry was created abaronet in the1921 Birthday Honours.[4][5] He was raised to the peerage asBaron Camrose, of Long Cross in the County ofSurrey, on 19 June 1929,[6] and advanced toViscount Camrose, of Hackwood Park in theCounty of Southampton, on 20 January 1941.[7]
Berry married Mary Agnes Corns in 1905. They had eight children together:[8]
Berry died in 1954 and was succeeded in the viscountcy, barony and baronetcy by his eldest son, Seymour.
Berry's great-grandson is actorJoshua Sasse.[9]
 |
|
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| New creation | Viscount Camrose 1941–1954 | Succeeded by |
| Baron Camrose 1929–1954 | ||
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baronet (of Hackwood Park) 1921–1954 | Succeeded by |
