July 21st, 2020, marks the Ninety-fourth (94th), Anniversary of the appointment of Herbert Harry Vivian Whitchurch as Lloyd’s of London’s Dominica Agent. This prestigious Agency has been one of the cornerstones of the Company’s success over the past one hundred and ten years and is confirmation of the reputation of integrity and efficiency enjoyed by Whitchurch.
The Committee of Lloyd’s decided to appoint agents at their Meeting in London on the 20th August, 1811, and Dominica was included in the list of proposed agencies. John Gordon was appointed the first Agent on the 12th February 1812, this being the 100th appointment made after the above mentioned decision.
The full list of holders of the office are:
DATE NAME
12 Feb 1812 John Gordon
26 May 1817 James Matthews
16 Jan 1856 Charles Leathim
3 Nov 1880 William MacIntyre
24 Jun 1891 William Stedman
23 Jan 1901 Alan Campbell
25 Mar 1903 Charles Hilton Grell
21 Jul 1926 Herbert Harry Vivian Whitchurch
17 Jul 1946 Messrs H.H.V. Whitchurch
10 Jun 1964 H.H.V Whitchurch & Co. Ltd.
It is noteworthy that the Company’s founder Herbert Harry Vivian Whitchurch was named Agent in 1926 but on his death the Agency was transferred to the Company where it remains up to this day. Today the network comprises of over 300 Lloyd’s Agents and a similar number of Sub Agents in every major port and commercial centre in the world. Their primary purpose is to provide a range of surveying and adjusting services to the global insurance market and its customers.
The Lloyd’s name continues to stand for honesty and integrity throughout the world for over 200 years and as H.H.V. Whitchurch & Company Limited continues on business during the years ahead it is expected that there will be a strengthening of that special relationship with Lloyd’s of London.
All i know if not for lloyd’s we wouldnt have gotten the money to put the roof back in the time we did. They were efficient.
Lloyd’s of London is still insuring descendants of slaves. Now our brothers and sisters’ employers, mainly US profesdional sports teams, insure them against career ending injuries and own the policies instead of slave traffickers back then. Any apology rendered by Lloyd’s was for business convenience sake only.
Lloyd’s of London owes alot to black people after slavery But here we are celebrating a company whose founders build an empire on the blood sweat and tears of our forefathers. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/18/world/europe/uk-slavery-trade-lloyds-greene-king.html
“British insurance giant Lloyd’s of London apologized for its role in the Atlantic slave trade amid an international uproar over systemic racism.”
The timing for this one is just off.
“Sir John Cass was an 18th century British merchant who played a major role in the development of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. City University of London has decided to drop his name from its business school.” Cass, a Tory Member of Parliament, was “a major figure in the early development of the slave trade and the Atlantic slave economy, directly dealing with slave agents in the African forts and in the Caribbean,” according to a BBC report.
If you did not get the rational for the paragraph above: Most of the planet is running from this types of history, and as proud Dominicans with a Neg Maron statue situated in our capital to commemorating our struggle against slavery, we should not give the impression that we are embracing it.