1920 - 1945
Between the two wars the two Berrys and Hugh Rudd had steadily built up an
ever larger and more rewarding business. In 1931 they were able to restore the
width of No. 3 to the full extent enjoyed by William Pickering and John Clarke.
By happy circumstance the new lease was signed by Sir Charles Bunbury,
the direct descendant of the original landlord of 1731, but it was not until
1966 that the firm was able to acquire the freehold.
A rather good dinner celebrated the 1931 signing and mention must be made of
Sergeant Dufty, whose culinary skills became legendary during the 39
years that he worked as chef at No. 3. Two other great characters of the time,
Strange and Brown, also worked long contented hours in the
shop.
Success continued to attend the house, but not always good fortune. In 1936,
only five years after his retirement, and at the early age of 59, Francis
Lawrence Berry suddenly died. His elder son George Berry was already
a junior partner along with Walter's son, Reginald Berry, and the
family's continuity seemed doubly assured. However, in March 1939, ill health
led Reggie to retire, and in 1941 George Berry was killed in action in North
Africa. It had been agreed that George's younger brother, Anthony,
should also enter the firm, but as a rating in the R.N.V.R he was called up for
service almost immediately. And soon Walter Berry was to be lost to the firm as
well.
Hugh Rudd managed the business with help from a greatly reduced staff. It
cannot have been much fun - rationing, regulations, the need to disappoint
customers, and all sorts of other shortages and privations, though bearable
taken one at a time, added up to misery in total. The only alleviations were in
entertaining Very Important Persons and in reflecting that nothing goes on
forever, and to read the roll of V.I.P.'s is to read the pages of history.
The Post-War Period
In the immediate post-war years the management team at No. 3 consisted of
Anthony Berry, Kenneth Upjohn and Leonard Rowell under the
guidance of Hugh Rudd, whose son, John, joined in 1948 after completing
his military service.
For legal and financial reasons the firm had in 1943 become a limited
liability company. Hugh Rudd was Chairman and Governing Director. Kenneth
Upjohn held a valuable appointment as Clerk of the Royal Cellars and
also played a leading role on the export side. Leonard Rowell was the Director
and was responsible for the care of the buildings and cellars, which now
included No. 4 St James's Street, brought largely at his instigation
during the war.
With the U.K. market still strangled by import restrictions and price
controls, Berrys looked to develop sales abroad. The drastic reduction in
whisky distilling during the war meant that every drop was still precious and
it was almost twenty years before supplies of Cutty Sark matched
demand.
Hugh Rudd had worked stupendously hard during the war and in 1946 he
suffered a stroke. Although he lived until April 1949, his illness naturally
restricted his capacity and in his absence the four other directors ran the
day-to-day business and Mrs. Rudd became a Non-Executive but highly
competent Chairman until 1965, when Anthony Berry took over. Anthony Berry was
to continue as Chairman for twenty years until handing over to John Rudd and
retiring in 1985.
Between 1961 and 1971 Cutty Sark totally dominated the U.S. market, with
sales rising to more than 2.5 million cases annually. If the 1960s was the
decade of USA, the '70s was the decade of Japan. Cutty Sark raced ahead and by
1979 was selling almost half a million cases a year, and challenging the leader
in the complicated Japanese market. Meanwhile, the rest of the world was not
being neglected; by 1970 Cutty Sark was sold in over a hundred different
countries including such unlikely places as New Caledonia, Nepal, Tahiti and
Taiwan.
