Model ships float Noah man’s boat

• Published date: 18 April 2024
• Author: Wesley Ford wesley.ford@acm.co.za
• Publication title: Southern Suburbs Tatler

The 77-year-old retired car salesman is originally from East London, but his

family moved to Cape Town when he was 6 and he grew up in Newlands. A resident of the Neighbourhood Old Age Homes (Noah) for the past 14 years, he recently put the finishing touches to a 19th century sailing ship about 90cm long and 50cm high.

Mr Berry says he builds the ships from scratch, relying purely on memory for reference.

He was 17 when he built his model ship, a replica of HMS Victory, the 104-gun flagship of British naval hero Lord Nelson at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805.

During his time at Noah, Mr Berry has built eight model ships from scratch and sold them for R3500 to R5500 to private companies that use them to decorate their offices.

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