Vera Florence Alice Bryan (9 June 1917 – 16 October 2013)[1] was a British businessperson who was the co-founder and a director of the then Drayton Manor Theme Park.
After leaving school at the age of 14, Mrs Bryan began working at California-in-England Pleasure Park in Berkshire, which was owned by her father, and by 1935, Vera had taken over the running of the tea shop with all the responsibilities that role involved.
[2] However, following the outbreak of the Second World War, California-in-England was shut and the restaurant was converted into a factory manufacturing aircraft parts.
The couple first arrived at the 80-acre site near Tamworth on 16 October 1949, and the land was covered with four-foot high brambles, and old army huts that surrounded the former mansion of Victorian prime minister Sir Robert Peel.
In addition to the running of Drayton Manor Theme Park, Vera Bryan also supported various charities, including the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).