Bernard Trevor Matthews
Encyclopedia
Bernard Trevor Matthews CVO
, CBE
(24 January 1930 – 25 November 2010) was the founder of Bernard Matthews Farms Limited, a company that is best-known for farming turkey
s and producing turkey products.
, Norfolk
, the son of a car mechanic and his housekeeper wife. Skilled at mathematics
, he won a scholarship
to the City of Norwich School
, but found it difficult to settle. Resultantly failing exams, the headmaster refused to let him reduce the school's pass-rate, and he left school with no qualifications.
auction
eer at Waters & Son between 1946 and 1948. During an auction at Acle
market, he saw 20 freshly laid turkey eggs for sale, which he bought for a shilling
each, and then acquired the same day a paraffin
-oil incubator
, which he bought for £1 10s. The venture to raise them in his future mother-in-law's back garden didn't pay off, as he had not calculated for the additional cost of feed for the birds.
After serving his two-year National service
in the Royal Air Force
, Matthews became an insurance clerk to earn an income, and started his company in 1950, buying more turkeys. He was only able to join the business full-time after spending £3,000 buying the dilapidated Great Witchingham
Hall, once the home of John Norris
, and filling its 35 rooms with turkeys. While Matthews and his wife lived in two unheated rooms, turkeys were hatched in the dining-room, reared in the Jacobean bedrooms and slaughtered in the kitchens.
In 1964 he met Nikita Khrushchev
to discuss the modernisation of the Russian poultry industry. In 1980 the company launched its first TV commercial featuring Turkey Breast Roast, with Matthews himself introducing the famous "Bootiful" catchphrase in his thick Norfolk accent, and becoming part of what has been described as the "national consciousness".
Matthews was appointed a CVO in the New Year's Honours List
December 2006, for his service with the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, a scheme for which he had also previously been awarded a CBE. However, in view of the H5N1 outbreak
in late January 2007 at his Holton, Suffolk
, plant, Matthews asked for the investiture
on 9 February 2007, at which he had been due to receive the CVO, to be postponed. In January 2010, he retired from the position of Chairman of Bernard Matthews Ltd at the age of 80.
woman Cornelia Elgershuizen (died 2004), whom he lived with for eight-years from when he split from his wife in the mid 1970s until the early 1980s. Both Matthews and his wife lived in the grounds of Great Witchingham Hall, and had a villa in St Tropez.
Bernard was known for helping projects at Norwich Cathedral
, Norwich Hospital, University of East Anglia
, True's Yard Museum
, Norwich Castle Museum, USAAF Memorial Library and others across Norfolk.
Matthews was a multi-millionaire with a fortune estimated at over £300m. His possessions included a motor yacht (sold by the time of his death), a Cessna 550 Citation II
private jet, and a Rolls-Royce
motor car. He died on 25 November 2010, aged 80.
Royal Victorian Order
The Royal Victorian Order is a dynastic order of knighthood and a house order of chivalry recognising distinguished personal service to the order's Sovereign, the reigning monarch of the Commonwealth realms, any members of her family, or any of her viceroys...
, CBE
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(24 January 1930 – 25 November 2010) was the founder of Bernard Matthews Farms Limited, a company that is best-known for farming turkey
Turkey (bird)
A turkey is a large bird in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America. The domestic turkey is a descendant of this species...
s and producing turkey products.
Early life
Bernard Matthews was born in 1930 in BrookeBrooke, Norfolk
Brooke is a village and civil parish in the South Norfolk district of Norfolk, England, about 7 miles south of Norwich and roughly equidistant from Norwich and Bungay...
, Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, the son of a car mechanic and his housekeeper wife. Skilled at mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
, he won a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
to the City of Norwich School
City of Norwich School
The Eaton School, more commonly known as CNS, is a secondary comprehensive school situated in Norwich, Norfolk on Eaton Road.-Admissions:It has over 1500 pupils and currently employs over 190 staff...
, but found it difficult to settle. Resultantly failing exams, the headmaster refused to let him reduce the school's pass-rate, and he left school with no qualifications.
Career
Matthews worked as a trainee livestockLivestock
Livestock refers to one or more domesticated animals raised in an agricultural setting to produce commodities such as food, fiber and labor. The term "livestock" as used in this article does not include poultry or farmed fish; however the inclusion of these, especially poultry, within the meaning...
auction
Auction
An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder...
eer at Waters & Son between 1946 and 1948. During an auction at Acle
Acle
Acle is a small market town on the River Bure on The Norfolk Broads in Norfolk, located halfway between Norwich and Great Yarmouth. It has the only bridge across the River Bure between Wroxham and Great Yarmouth. There is a high school Acle is a small market town on the River Bure on The Norfolk...
market, he saw 20 freshly laid turkey eggs for sale, which he bought for a shilling
Shilling
The shilling is a unit of currency used in some current and former British Commonwealth countries. The word shilling comes from scilling, an accounting term that dates back to Anglo-Saxon times where it was deemed to be the value of a cow in Kent or a sheep elsewhere. The word is thought to derive...
each, and then acquired the same day a paraffin
Paraffin
In chemistry, paraffin is a term that can be used synonymously with "alkane", indicating hydrocarbons with the general formula CnH2n+2. Paraffin wax refers to a mixture of alkanes that falls within the 20 ≤ n ≤ 40 range; they are found in the solid state at room temperature and begin to enter the...
-oil incubator
Incubator (egg)
An incubator is a device simulating avian incubation by keeping eggs warm and in the correct humidity, and if needed to turn them, to hatch them. Modern incubators are electrically heated with a thermostat....
, which he bought for £1 10s. The venture to raise them in his future mother-in-law's back garden didn't pay off, as he had not calculated for the additional cost of feed for the birds.
After serving his two-year National service
National service
National service is a common name for mandatory government service programmes . The term became common British usage during and for some years following the Second World War. Many young people spent one or more years in such programmes...
in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
, Matthews became an insurance clerk to earn an income, and started his company in 1950, buying more turkeys. He was only able to join the business full-time after spending £3,000 buying the dilapidated Great Witchingham
Great Witchingham
Great Witchingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk about north-west of Norwich.It covers an area of and had a population of 564 in 235 households as of the 2001 census....
Hall, once the home of John Norris
John Norris
John Norris, sometimes called John Norris of Bemerton, was an English theologian, philosopher and poet associated with the Cambridge Platonists.-Life:...
, and filling its 35 rooms with turkeys. While Matthews and his wife lived in two unheated rooms, turkeys were hatched in the dining-room, reared in the Jacobean bedrooms and slaughtered in the kitchens.
In 1964 he met Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Khrushchev
Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev led the Soviet Union during part of the Cold War. He served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964, and as Chairman of the Council of Ministers, or Premier, from 1958 to 1964...
to discuss the modernisation of the Russian poultry industry. In 1980 the company launched its first TV commercial featuring Turkey Breast Roast, with Matthews himself introducing the famous "Bootiful" catchphrase in his thick Norfolk accent, and becoming part of what has been described as the "national consciousness".
Matthews was appointed a CVO in the New Year's Honours List
British honours system
The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery, achievement, or service to the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories...
December 2006, for his service with the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, a scheme for which he had also previously been awarded a CBE. However, in view of the H5N1 outbreak
2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak
The 2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak was an occurrence of avian influenza in England caused by the H5N1 subtype of Influenza virus A that began on 30 January 2007. The infection affected poultry at one of Bernard Matthews' farms in Holton in Suffolk...
in late January 2007 at his Holton, Suffolk
Holton, Suffolk
Holton, in Suffolk, England, is a village near to the town of Halesworth with a population of around 1,100. Holton is split into two parts, Upper Holton and Holton.-History:Although it often referred to as Holton St...
, plant, Matthews asked for the investiture
Investiture
Investiture, from the Latin is a rather general term for the formal installation of an incumbent...
on 9 February 2007, at which he had been due to receive the CVO, to be postponed. In January 2010, he retired from the position of Chairman of Bernard Matthews Ltd at the age of 80.
Personal life
Matthews married Joyce Reid in 1952 with whom he adopted three children Kathleen, Jason and Victoria but by 1990 the couple were living apart. Matthews also had a son, Frederick Elgershuizen, by DutchDutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
woman Cornelia Elgershuizen (died 2004), whom he lived with for eight-years from when he split from his wife in the mid 1970s until the early 1980s. Both Matthews and his wife lived in the grounds of Great Witchingham Hall, and had a villa in St Tropez.
Bernard was known for helping projects at Norwich Cathedral
Norwich Cathedral
Norwich Cathedral is a cathedral located in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. Formerly a Catholic church, it has belonged to the Church of England since the English Reformation....
, Norwich Hospital, University of East Anglia
University of East Anglia
The University of East Anglia is a public research university based in Norwich, United Kingdom. It was established in 1963, and is a founder-member of the 1994 Group of research-intensive universities.-History:...
, True's Yard Museum
True's Yard Museum
True's Yard Museum is a social history Museum in King's Lynn, Norfolk. It is an independent Museum run almost entirely by volunteers and depicts the story of the old North End fishing quarter of King's Lynn. Support was received from the late Bernard Matthews and others...
, Norwich Castle Museum, USAAF Memorial Library and others across Norfolk.
Matthews was a multi-millionaire with a fortune estimated at over £300m. His possessions included a motor yacht (sold by the time of his death), a Cessna 550 Citation II
Cessna 550 Citation II
The Cessna Citation II was the first of the Model 550 series of Citation jets, which are light corporate jet built by Cessna. A direct development of the Citation I, the Citation II led to the later development of the Citation II/SP, the...
private jet, and a Rolls-Royce
Rolls-Royce Motors
Rolls-Royce Motors was created from the de-merger of the Rolls-Royce car business from Rolls-Royce Limited in 1973. The original Rolls-Royce Limited had been nationalised in 1971 due to the financial collapse of the company, caused in part by the development of the RB211 jet engine...
motor car. He died on 25 November 2010, aged 80.
See also
- Bernard Matthews Farms: the company he founded.
- 2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreakThe 2007 Bernard Matthews H5N1 outbreak was an occurrence of avian influenza in England caused by the H5N1 subtype of Influenza virus A that began on 30 January 2007. The infection affected poultry at one of Bernard Matthews' farms in Holton in Suffolk...