Sir Anthony George Berry (12 February 1925 – 12 October 1984)
/ref> was a British

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

politician. He served as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

(MP) for Enfield Southgate and a whip in

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. She was the first female British prime ...

's government. Berry served as an MP for nearly 20 years until he was killed in the

Brighton hotel bombing A Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) assassination attempt against members of the British government took place on 12 October 1984 at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, East Sussex, England, United Kingdom. A long-delay time bomb was plan ...

by the

Provisional IRA The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, fa ...

Personal life

Born in Eton, Buckinghamshire (now in Berkshire), Berry was the sixth and youngest son of newspaper magnate

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 ...

, and his wife Mary (). He married firstly, at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

in 1954, the Hon. Mary Cynthia Roche (born 1934), a daughter of the 4th Baron Fermoy. Mary's sister,

Frances Frances is a French and English given name of Latin origin. In Latin the meaning of the name Frances is 'from France' or 'free one.' The male version of the name in English is Francis. The original Franciscus, meaning "Frenchman", comes from the F ...

, married John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer, and so Berry was an uncle of Diana, Princess of Wales. Berry and his wife Mary had four children: Alexandra Mary (born 1955), Antonia Ruth and Joanna Cynthia (twins, born 1957), and Edward Anthony Morys (born 1960). They divorced in 1966. He then married Sarah Clifford-Turner at

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

in 1966 and had two more children: George (born 1967), and Sasha Jane (born 1969).

Career

In 1962 he was appointed High Sheriff of Glamorgan. He was elected as Conservative MP for Southgate (later Enfield Southgate) at the 1964 general election, and served in Margaret Thatcher's government after the Conservatives won the 1979 general election. He served as Vice-Chamberlain of the Household between 1979 and 1981, Comptroller of the Household from 1981 to 1983 and was appointed

Treasurer of the Household The Treasurer of the Household is a member of the Royal Household of the Sovereign of the United Kingdom. The position is usually held by one of the government deputy Chief Whips in the House of Commons. The current holder of the office is Mar ...

in 1983. He was knighted in December 1983. At the time of his death he was

Deputy Chief Whip The Chief Whip is a political leader whose task is to enforce the whipping system, which aims to ensure that legislators who are members of a political party attend and vote on legislation as the party leadership prescribes. United Kingdom ...

in Thatcher's government.

Death

On 12 October 1984, Berry was killed in the

, when a bomb was planted in the Grand Brighton Hotel during the

Conservative Party Conference The Conservative Party Conference (CPC) is a four-day national conference event held by the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. It takes place every year around October during the British party conference season, when the House of Commons is ...

. He was 59. He was survived by his wife, Lady Berry, who was injured in the blast. His death occurred three days before the 20th anniversary of his first election to Parliament in 1964. Berry's death in office triggered a by-election in Enfield Southgate, which was won by future Cabinet minister

Michael Portillo Michael Denzil Xavier Portillo (; born 26 May 1953) is a British journalist, broadcaster and former politician. His broadcast series include railway documentaries such as '' Great British Railway Journeys'' and '' Great Continental Railway Jour ...

. 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 the

Good Friday Agreement The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...

. Since Magee's release, Berry's daughter,

Jo Berry Joanna Cynthia Berry (born 1957) is a British peace activist and public speaker. She is the daughter of the Hon. Sir Anthony Berry, who was killed by the IRA in the Brighton hotel bombing on 12 October 1984. The bomb was planted by Patrick Magee, ...

(a mother of three living in North West England), has received 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 an ''Everyman'' programme, shown on BBC2 in December 2001. She has received some criticism from other families of IRA victims for these meetings. 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 of Lord Donoughue) and her daughter Sasha unveiled a plaque in his honour at the newly renamed Sir Anthony Berry House in Chaseville Parade,

Winchmore Hill Winchmore Hill is a suburb and electoral ward in the Borough of Enfield, North London, in the N21 postal district. With the Winchmore Hill conservation area as a focal point, the district is bounded on the east by Green Lanes (the A105 road ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Berry, Anthony 1925 births 1984 deaths 1984 murders in the United Kingdom Assassinated English politicians English terrorism victims Male murder victims Younger sons of viscounts Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies High Sheriffs of Glamorgan Deaths by improvised explosive device in England People from Eton, Berkshire People killed by the Provisional Irish Republican Army People murdered in England Presidents of the Oxford University Conservative Association Terrorism deaths in England UK MPs 1964–1966 UK MPs 1966–1970 UK MPs 1970–1974 UK MPs 1974 UK MPs 1974–1979 UK MPs 1979–1983 UK MPs 1983–1987 Treasurers of the Household Knights Bachelor Politicians awarded knighthoods Anthony Berry Assassinated British MPs English murder victims