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Gwen Berryman
MBE LRAM
Berryman in 1971
Born
Gwendoline Margaret Berryman

(1906-11-22)22 November 1906
Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England
Died20 December 1983(1983-12-20) (aged 77)
Torbay, Devon, England
EducationWolverhampton Girls' High School
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Singer, actress, businesswoman
Years active1925–1980; 1981
Known forRole of Doris Archer in The Archers (1951–1980)
Signature

Gwendoline Margaret Berryman MBE LRAM (22 November 1906 – 20 December 1983) was an English singer, actress and businesswoman. She was best known as the voice of Doris Archer in the BBC Radio 4 soap opera The Archers.

Early life

[edit]

Gwendoline Margaret Berryman was born in Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, England on 22 November 1906,[1] as the elder child to Richard Edward Berryman (1881–1955),[2][3] a boot and shoe retailer,[4] and his wife,[5] Louisa Elizabeth (née Clark; 1884–1952).[6][7] She had a younger brother, Richard Trevor Berryman[8] (1915–2002).[9][10]

Berryman attended Wolverhampton Girls' High School. She left at the age of 16 having just managed to pass the School Certificate.[11]

Career

[edit]

Berryman began her professional career in radio on 8 July 1925.[12] She made her debut as a singer in 1926, at the age of 19, when she appeared in a BBC broadcast from the Birmingham School of Music, where she was training. She performed in several operas, and played the piano and the cello in the orchestra.[13] She later studied at the Royal Academy of Music, where she gained many awards, including the Westmorland Scholarship,[14] the Isabel Jay Gold Medal and the Acton Bond Diction Prize.[15][16] She also gained her Licentiate of the Royal Academy of Music (LRAM)[17] and the Certificate of Merit with Distinction.[11]

Berryman made her acting debut in Derby Day at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, London in 1932, before returning to the Midlands to run a dress shop.[18] She joined the Wolverhampton Repetory Theatre in 1937. She returned to performing during the Second World War, appearing in concert parties to entertain the forces stationed in the Midlands.[19]

Berryman took over the role of Doris Evelyn Rebecca Archer (née Forrest; born 1 December 1897) in the BBC Light Programme radio soap opera The Archers on 1 January 1951. Doris was voiced by Nan Marriott-Watson for the pilot episode on 29 May 1950.[20][21][22][23] She voiced Doris for 29 years until her character was killed off on 27 October 1980. Doris died at the age of 82, from a heart attack at Glebe Cottage.[24] On 14 July 2011, an 11-page script—which belonged to Berryman—from the first episode was put up for sale at a Sotheby's auction, having been valued at £3,500.[25] It sold for £6,875.[26][27]

Berryman authored a cookbook, Doris Archer's Farm Cookery Book (ISBN 9780392053815), which was published by Museum Press in 1958.[28][29][30]

Berryman was the castaway on 1 January 1972 episode of the BBC Radio 4 programme Desert Island Discs. She was interviewed by Roy Plomley. Her chosen music included the Horn Concerto No. 1 in D major by Mozart, with her favourite being the Trumpet Voluntry by Jeremiah Clarke; her chosen book was a cookery book, and her luxury writing materials.[31][32]

Berryman was the subject of the ITV biographical television documentary This Is Your Life. She was surprised by Eamonn Andrews during a specially arranged rehearsal of The Archers at the BBC Broadcasting House, which she believed was being filmed for Canadian television. The episode was broadcast on 25 February 1976.[33]

Berryman retired in 1980, due to ill health.[34] Her her autobiography, The Life and Death of Doris Archer (ISBN 9780413486400), was published by Methuen Publishing in 1981.[35]

Personal life

[edit]

Berryman did not cope well with fame. According to William Smethurst, she "started to slip over the edge" in the late 1950s. She had her personal writing paper printed with the fictional address of "Brookfield Farm, Ambridge", when, in reality, she lived in a large detached house in Wolverhampton.[33] She also stopped calling fellow actors by their real names. According to June Spencer, "Gwen Berryman believed implicitly that she was Doris Archer".[36][37]

A blue plaque outside Berryman's former home
123 Goldthorn Hill, Wolverhampton. Berryman's former home, 2008

Berryman had been engaged to a doctor, who died tragically, in her youth.[38] She enjoyed embroidery.[39]

Berryman moved to Torquay,[40] Devon to be closer to her family[41] upon her retirement.[34] She lived at 12 Seaway Court,[42] before moving to Seven Hill Nursing Home.[43][44] Her younger brother, Richard, married Joan Kathleen Bundy (born Jean Kathleen Bundy; 1917–2006)[45][46] in Wednesbury, Staffordshire in 1940;[47] her brother and sister-in-law had a son together, Christopher John Berryman (born 1943).[48]

Berryman suffered from a range of health issues throughout her life, including rheumatoid arthritis.[34] She had a special chair in The Archers green room because of her arthritis, which she said started when she was chased by a rhinoceros on safari in South Africa.[38] She suffered two strokes, the first in 1980, which left her without her voice and partially paralysed, and the second in 1983, weeks before her death.[24][49] She was too ill to listen to Doris's death on The Archers.[44]

Berryman was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II in the 1981 New Year Honours on 30 December 1980[50][51] for her services to radio drama.[33] She collected her honour, in a wheelchair, on 18 February 1981, at Buckingham Palace.[52]

Death

[edit]

Berryman died at Torbay Hospital in Torbay on 20 December 1983. She was 77.[53][34][54] She had been admitted to hospital a week prior after suffering with gangrene in her leg.[49] Her funeral service took place at Torquay Crematorium on 30 December 1983, at 2:00 pm.[41][44] She left an estate valued at £103,702 gross (£103,103 net). She left £5,000 equally between the grandchildren of her late friend, Nancy A Marriott, £100 to "my hairdresser", Ester Horswill, and the remainder of her property mostly to relatives.[43][42]

Credits

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Theatre

[edit]
Year Title Role Venue Production
1932 Derby Day Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith
1937 Tovarich Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Repertory Company
1940 When We Are Married Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Repertory Company
1941 And So To Bed Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Repertory Company
1942 Bunty Pulls the Strings Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Repertory Company
1942 Matron Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Repertory Company
1943 Lot's Wife Sarah (Lot's sister-in-law) Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton Derek Salberg's Repertory Company
1943 The Corn is Green Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Repertory Company
1944 Jane Eyre Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Repertory Company
1946 The Enchanted Cottage Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Repertory Company
1946 Night of January 16th Mrs John Hutchins Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton Derek Salberg's Repertory Company
1948 Trespass Mrs Henting Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton Wolverhampton Repertory Company

Source: [19]

Radio

[edit]
Year Title Role Station Notes
1948 The Old Wives' Tale Mrs Baines BBC Home Service 5 episodes
1949 The Rise and Decline of Johnny Godwin Amelia Fraction BBC Home Service 1 episode
1949 My Brother Jonathan Mrs Gaige BBC Home Service 2 episodes
1949 The Card Mrs Codleyn BBC Home Service 4 episodes
1951–1980 The Archers Doris Archer BBC Light Programme, BBC Home Service, BBC Network Three, BBC Radio 4 1,358+ episodes
1951 Mom Aggie Randle BBC Home Service 1 episode
1951 The Human Body Mother BBC Home Service 2 episodes
1953–1957, 1959–1960 Children's Hour Various BBC Home Service 12 episodes
1957 Appeal: Southbourne Home for Elderly People Herself BBC Home Service 1 episode
1961 Chase a Phantom Miss Walker BBC Home Service 2 episodes
1961 Week's Good Cause Herself BBC Home Service 1 episode
1962 The Bishopton Letter Mrs Merrydew, Mrs Woolf BBC Home Service 5 episodes
1962 Jennings at School Mrs Thorpe BBC Home Service 1 episode
1962 The National Gardens Scheme Herself BBC Home Service 1 episode
1962, 1964 Norman and Henry Bones Mrs Duke, Mrs Hibberd, Mrs Richmond BBC Home Service 3 episodes
1963 For The Young Polly and Oliver Persued Betsy Perkins BBC Home Service 2 episodes
1963 Five-Fifteen Herself BBC Home Service 2 episodes
1965 Mid-Week Theatre: Bank Holiday BBC Light Programme 1 episode
1966 Gwen Berryman. ' Doris Archer,' talks about her life and career to Gerald Nethercot Herself BBC Home Service 1 episode
1967 Afternoon Theatre Bank Holiday BBC Home Service 1 episode
1967 Saturday-Night Theatre Lay Sister BBC Radio 4 1 episode
1969 Week's Good Cause Herself BBC Radio 4 1 episode
1969 Home This Afternoon Herself BBC Radio 4 1 episode
1970 Afternoon Theatre The Return Lay Sister BBC Radio 4 1 episode
1972 Desert Island Discs Herself BBC Radio 4 1 episode
1972 Coastal forcast Herself BBC Radio 4 1 episode
1972 Midweek Theatre Mary Tidbury BBC Radio 4 1 episode
1979 Week's Good Cause Herself BBC Radio 4 1 episode
1979 Does He Take Sugar? Herself BBC Radio 4 1 episode

Source: [20]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837–1915: OCT 1906 6b 562 WOLVERHAMPTON — Gwendoline M Berryman
  2. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837–1915: JAN 1881 6c 156 DUDLEY — Richard Edward Berryman
  3. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007: APR 1955 (aged 74) 9b 875 WOLVERHAMPTON — Richard E Berryman
  4. ^ 1911 England Census
  5. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1837–1915: APR 1904 6b 1059 WOLVERHAMPTON — Richard Edward Berryman = Louisa Elizabeth Clark
  6. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837–1915: OCT 1884 1a 115 KENSINGTON — Louisa Elizabeth Clark
  7. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007: OCT 1952 (aged 68) 9b 837 WOLVERHAMPTON — Louisa E Berryman
  8. ^ "Richard Trevor BERRYMAN". gov.uk. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  9. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1837–1915: OCT 1915 6b 920 WOLVERHAMPTON — Richard T Berryman
  10. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007: JUL 2002 (aged 86) C44A 4221C 240 TORBAY — Richard Trevor Berryman
  11. ^ a b "Meet The Archers" (PDF). luff. p. 9. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  12. ^ "Jul 08, 1925, page 6 - Birmingham Evening Mail at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. 8 July 1925. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  13. ^ Saint, David (3 December 2014). "Birmingham Conservatoire 125 Years" (PDF). Birmingham City University. p. 28. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  14. ^ "Dec 13, 1929, page 7 - Birmingham Gazette at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. 13 December 1929. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  15. ^ "Mar 23, 1931, page 6 - The Daily Telegraph at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. 23 March 1931. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  16. ^ "Apr 02, 1931, page 6 - The Daily Telegraph at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. 2 April 1931. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  17. ^ "May 27, 1930, page 1 - The Daily Telegraph at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. 27 May 1930. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  18. ^ "Record – UoB Calmview5: Search results". University of Birmingham. 5 October 2018. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  19. ^ a b "Gwen Berryman". Theatricalia. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  20. ^ a b "Gwen Berryman". BBC. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  21. ^ "The Archers – An oral history". BBC. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  22. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – The Archers – The Archers in 2021 – 70 characters for 70 years". BBC. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  23. ^ "The Archers". BBC. 1 January 1951. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  24. ^ a b Jensen, Gregory (27 October 1980). "Doris Archer died on schedule Monday night but her..." UPI. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  25. ^ "The Archers: First script is up for auction". BBC News. 18 June 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  26. ^ "The Archers: Radio 4 drama series scripts up for auction". BBC News. 14 August 2012. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  27. ^ Lockley, Mike (13 May 2012). "Original Archers radio scripts put up for sale on eBay". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  28. ^ Berryman, Gwen (1958). Doris Archer's farm cookery book. Internet Archive. London: Museum Press. ISBN 9780392053815.
  29. ^ Queenborough, Marcus (6 May 2024). "BBC The Archers in pictures as drama brews in 'real life' Ambridge". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  30. ^ Reynolds, Gillian (31 December 2015). "The Archers: 65 years of love, death and dairy farming". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  31. ^ "BBC Radio 4 – Desert Island Discs, Gwen Berryman". BBC. 1 January 1972. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  32. ^ "Desert Island Discs – Gwen Berryman – BBC Sounds". BBC. 1 January 1972. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  33. ^ a b c Sweeney, Joe (18 November 2020). "The 8 most famous places in Wolverhampton you didn't know were there". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  34. ^ a b c d Parker, Jim (24 April 2023). "Doris Archer swapped Ambridge for life on Torquay seafront". Torbay Weekly. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  35. ^ Berryman, Gwen (1981). The Life and Death of Doris Archer. London: Methuen. ISBN 9780413486400.
  36. ^ Higgins, Charlotte (15 December 2020). "'A peculiarly English epic': the weird genius of The Archers". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  37. ^ Spencer, June (18 January 2020). "June Spencer on playing The Archers' Peggy Woolley: 'So many listeners think we're real!'". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  38. ^ a b Spencer, June (2010). The Road to Ambridge: My Life, Peggy and The Archers. London, England: JR Books Ltd. pp. 70. ISBN 9781907532252.
  39. ^ Spencer, June (2010). The Road to Ambridge: My Life, Peggy and The Archers. London, England: JR Books Ltd. pp. 201. ISBN 9781907532252.
  40. ^ "Dec 31, 1980, page 3 - Western Morning News at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. 31 December 1980. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  41. ^ a b "Dec 21, 1983, page 2 - Herald Express at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. 21 December 1983. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  42. ^ a b "Feb 13, 1984, page 2 - Herald Express at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. 13 February 1984. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  43. ^ a b England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858–1995: 1 FEB 1984 BIRMINGHAM — Gwendoline Margaret Berryman
  44. ^ a b c Spencer, June (2010). The Road to Ambridge: My Life, Peggy and The Archers. London, England: JR Books Ltd. pp. 133. ISBN 9781907532252.
  45. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007: JUL 1917 6b 1011 WALSALL — Jean K Bundy
  46. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007: DEC 2096 (aged 89) B98A 422/1B 058 TORBAY — Joan Kathleen Berryman
  47. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Marriage Index, 1916–2005: OCT 1940 6b 2256 WEDNESBURY — Richard T Berryman = Joan K Bundy
  48. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916–2007: JUL 1943 6b 1248 WEDNESBURY — Christopher J Berryman
  49. ^ a b "Dec 21, 1983, page 5 - Coventry Evening Telegraph at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. 21 December 1983. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  50. ^ "No. 48467". The Gazette. 30 December 1980. p. 13. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  51. ^ "Dec 31, 1980, page 10 - Western Daily Press at Newspapers.com". Newspapers.com. 31 December 1980. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
  52. ^ Press, Central (18 February 1981). "Gwen Berryman. 10th February 1981: Actress Gwen Berryman, who plays Doris Archer in the long-running radio drama series 'The Archers', shortly after she was made a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire at Buckingham Palace, London. (Photo by Central Press/Getty Images)". Getty Images. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
  53. ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916–2007: OCT 1983 (aged 76) 21 2262 TORBAY — Gwendoline Margaret Berryman
  54. ^ "Birthdays and Anniversaries". The Independent. 20 December 1996. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
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