Pat Berry
(1929 – 2007)
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For over 50 years Pat had been a famous and well loved figure around Seaford. She was a prolific author, historian and stalwart champion of the town. Pat was born in Belmont, near Sutton, Surrey and her chosen career at that time was in the law. She joined the Metropolitan Police and served as a Policewoman at Epsom where she struggled with the prejudices of the time. One of her posts was working as a note taker for the local pathologist, a job that can’t have been pleasant but she did it to prove that a woman could do it. She often said that she was the first WPC to have had this role. In the 1950s she came to Seaford where she married John Berry the local blacksmith. They married and lived in the High Street just around the corner from the forge in Crouch Lane where she worked as his secretary. |
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Pat and John were supporters of and ran the Seaford Army Cadets for many years but it was Pat’s fascination with the history of the town which was to keep her busy after John’s sudden death. Pat helped to raise money for the Newhaven and Seaford Historical Society by giving talks and guided tours. She worked hard to ensure that the heritage of the town was recorded and saved and was the Chair and Press Officer for the museum for many years, helping to secure the Martello Tower as the permanent home of the museum. In recent years she was a tutor for the Workers Educational Association where she shared her wide ranging knowledge about the history of Seaford and area and encouraged others to do the same. |
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Living in the town centre, Pat knew virtually all of the traders and shopkeepers in town and was the President of the Seaford Chamber of Commerce three times in the 1980s, 1990s and more recently between 2003 and 2004. She re-started the Seaford Games Tourney at the Salts and ran it on at least two occasions. Pat loved the theatre. She was the chair of the Seaford Musical Theatre and publicity officer for the Film Society. As Dee Berry she ran the Seaford branch of the Theatregoers Club of Great Britain and made hundreds of trips to Theatreland arranging the coaches and tickets. |
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Amongst all this hard work she also found time to write numerous local history books, not only about the Seaford area but also Surrey. She contributed regular articles to the Sussex Express and was interviewed for local radio broadcasts about the town.
Pat supported the Royal British Legion and was involved in arranging the service now regularly held at Seaford Cemetery to commemorate the Canadians and West Indian Soldiers who are buried there. When I came to Seaford Pat was kind enough to ‘take me under her wing’ and encouraged me to write about the history of my home town, Eastbourne and about Seaford and I am grateful for her advice and gentle guidance.
At Christmas 2005 Pat suffered a stroke and was most annoyed that this prevented her from writing and doing so many of the things that she enjoyed. She has been lovingly cared for by her stepdaughter Sue over the past two years and died peacefully at the DGH Eastbourne on Sunday 2nd December. Pat will be sadly missed, not only by her friends but by many Seafordians.
Kevin Gordon 2nd December 2007
01323 491707 |
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