These milestones prompted me (Pete Matthew) to try and collate something of a history of the company. It is a work in progress; there is doubtless more to add as we dig a bit deeper into the history, and there’s certainly more history to write in future!
1923
Lay preacher Mr Thomas Jackson sets up shop as an insurance man. He would travel on his bicycle to farms in West Cornwall, arranging insurance for their businesses and homes.
1946 (approx)
Thomas’s son, Horace Aubrey Jackson (known as Barry), was a PoW in Italy but escaped back to England. He became a very well known ‘character’ in West Cornwall and joined the company shortly after the war, we believe. (Image kindly shared from the Cornwall Railway Society Collection)
1950s
Jacksons had an employee called Mr Carter who came from London and had a connection with CE Heath and Co, a big Lloyds Broker firm. This gave access to top-quality deals otherwise not available to West Cornwall businesses and sealed Jacksons’ reputation as a leading firm in the South West.
1968
The son of a local headmaster, Jim Curnow joined the business in 1968, buying out the share of Thomas Jackson. Jim played full back at rugby for Esher and worked for Yorkshire Insurance in the City of London before moving back to Cornwall and Joining Jacksons
1971
George Bassett bought most of Barry’s shares to join Jim as a partner in the firm. George was previously with Phoenix insurance. He bought the balance of Barry’s shares when the latter eventually retired, making Jim and George equal partners.
1974
Jim and George, aware that the regulatory regimes of general insurance and life and pensions were diverging, incorporated a new Limited company called Jackson Life & Pensions Brokers Limited, each of them with a 50% share. Today this company is known as Jacksons Wealth Management. We still have the original sign from this time!
1976
The firm bought Jackson House on Alverton Street and moved there from Morrab Road. The Insurance side of the business still operates out of Jackson House today.
70s and 80s
In the 70s and 80s the firm had a strong connection with Scottish Widows and sold many endowments and savings plans to local clients. When Scottish Widows demutualised in 2000, many of those policyholders had significant payouts, some running into six-figure sums.
Late 70s
In the late 70s, the life and pensions side of the business employed Brian Eddy who was a very successful salesman, and he contributed massively to building the business with prominent local business and farming families.
1985
In 1985, the firm parted ways somewhat acrimoniously with Brian Eddy, and this paved the way for the arrival of two men who would take the business forward and pave the way for the modern incarnation of Jacksons.
This article was written by Pete Matthew, CEO
You can learn more about Pete by visiting his profile