Mr. Bernard Matthews CBE
1930 – 2010
Bernard Matthews was born in Norfolk, the son of a mechanic. He excelled at mathematics and won a scholarship at the City of Norwich School, but could not settle in his studies and left school at the age of 16.
After working as a trainee auctioneer in a local livestock market, he began his turkey career in 1950 with the purchase of 20 eggs and a second-hand incubator.
By 1952 he was producing 3,000 turkey eggs at his home and moved into poultry farming full-time. In 1955 he purchased Great Witchingham Hall, a derelict mansion (reportedly for £3,000), with 36 acres. While Bernard and his wife lived in two unheated rooms, turkeys were hatched in the ballroom, reared in the Jacobean bedrooms and living rooms, and slaughtered in the kitchens.
The hall still houses the offices of the turkey empire he created; at one point his personal wealth was estimated at over £300m.
In his career he supported many charitable causes including the Caister Lifeboat, the Nelson Museum in Great Yarmouth, with the swimming pool at the University of East Anglia sports park being named the Bernard Matthews Olympic pool in his honour.
In 1964 he met Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev to discuss the modernisation of the Soviet Union’s poultry industry. And in 1980 the company launched its first TV commercial featuring Turkey Breast Roast, with Bernard himself introducing the famous “Bootiful” catchphrase in his Norfolk accent.
Bernard was known for helping projects in Norfolk, including at Norwich Cathedral, Norwich Hospital, Norwich Castle Museum, and the 2nd Air Division Memorial Library.
In 1989 he was awarded the Queen’s Service Medal by the government of New Zealand for services to the New Zealand meat industry. He was later appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) in the 2006 honours list for his service with the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award, a scheme for which he had previously been appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE).
He retired from the position of chairman of Bernard Matthews Farms in 2010 at the age of 80 and died later the same year.