James Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley GBE (7 May 1883 – 6 February 1968) was a Welsh newspaper publisher.
Berry was born the son of John Mathias and Mary Ann (née Rowe) Berry, the third of three brothers from Merthyr Tydfil in Wales.
He originally co-owned The Daily Telegraph with his second brother William, 1st Viscount Camrose, and Baron Burnham. He founded Kemsley Newspapers, which owned The Sunday Times, The Daily Sketch and The Sunday Graphic amongst its titles.
He married twice: firstly in 1907 Mary Lilian Holmes, daughter of Horace George Holmes, with whom he had six sons and a daughter, and secondly Edith Merandon du Plessis, daughter of E. N. Merandon du Plessis. He was succeeded upon his death by his eldest son Lionel. His youngest son, Conservative politician the Honourable Sir Anthony Berry, was killed by the IRA in the 1984 Brighton hotel bombing.
Berry was created a baronet in 1928,[1] and was appointed as an Officer of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem in 1931.[2] In 1936, he was created Baron Kemsley, of Farnham Royal in the County of Buckingham,[3] and raised to Viscount Kemsley, of Dropmore in the County of Buckingham, in 1945.[4]
In 1929 he was appointed High Sheriff of Buckinghamshire[5] and in 1959, Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire for "political and public service".[6]
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| New creation | Viscount Kemsley 1945–1968 |
Succeeded by Geoffrey Lionel Berry |
| New creation | Baron Kemsley 1936–1968 |
|
| Baronetage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baronet 1928–1968 |
Succeeded by Geoffrey Lionel Berry |