175 years whose family were also in the wine trade. James and Leonor had two sons and they added a hyphen to their surname, which became Andrews-Speed. Their elder son, another James, married Lucy Imossi. James and Lucy had a son, another James, and a daughter, Mabel. She married George Gaggero (later Sir George) of M.H.Bland’s. The family’s connections through marriage were consolidated across a significant portion of the upper level of Gibraltar society at the time. Jerome Saccone married a French girl, Josephine Langlais. They had eight daughters, one of whom – Rosa – died young. Jerome probably wanted a male heir to take over his businesses, but he had to content himself with two of his sons-in-law building on the foundations that he laid. They were Albert Porral and Joseph Patron. Patron was a barrister. He was the third son of the popular physician and pharmaceutical dispenser, Dr Joseph Patron. Dr Patron was involved in the famous Mary Celeste case, where he was asked to analyse the “blood” found on a sword and found it was rust. Porral was married to Mary Saccone, the eldest of the sisters, and Patron to Clemencia Sac-
cone, the youngest sister. Two of the sisters married diplomats. Leonie married an Italian Marquis, who was in the consular service. She became the Marchioness of Carcano. Ernestine married the Spanish consul in Gibraltar, Francisco Martí. One of Ernestine’s descendants is the present Duke of Medina Sidonia. Victorine married Pedro Canepa. Their daughter Victoria married John Mackintosh, Gibraltar’s biggest philanthropist. Elena married William Thomson. Their descendant, Sir Willie Thomson, was the first Gibraltarian to be commissioned into the Gibraltar Defence Force (now the Royal Gibraltar Regiment) in 1939 and was later Speaker of the House of Assembly. Emilia married a military officer, William Haskett-Smith, who attained the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel. He headed a London branch of Saccone’s business. Their son Carlos went into insurance: the name SOLRAC is his Christian name spelt
backwards. The Saccone family thereby became linked through marriage to many important families. Thus, not only were Speed and Saccone hugely successful in business, they were also very well connected in Gibraltar society. In 1908, James Andrews-Speed, the grandson of the original James Speed, and the heirs of Jerome Saccone entered into negotiations. The result was a merger of the two companies, on 1st October. They had both been at the forefront of the wine and spirit business. After the merger, the new company became the largest and most important wine and spirit merchants in Gibraltar. The companies, by that stage, had already looked abroad and had opened branches in London, Portsmouth, Chatham, Devonport and Malta, and had agents in Mumbai (in India) and in Malaga. The company was then called Jerome Saccone and James Speed Ltd, but the name was too
Not only were Speed and Saccone hugely successful in business, they were also very well connected in Gibraltar society
cumbersome, and it was soon shortened to Saccone and Speed. As Saccone & Speed, the company grew and prospered notwithstanding the ravages of two world wars, the depression of the 1920s, and the many challenges that were posed by changing international circumstances in places where the company set up branches and agents. Over the years, Saccone & Speed established branches and agencies in many UK cities and in many overseas countries and cities including Malta, Spain, Morocco, New York, Washington, India, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico, Italy, Cyprus, Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Today, the company is also synonymous with the bottling of Coca-Cola in Gibraltar and as builders’ merchants through Gaggero Cemats Home & Building Supplies, over and above selling wines and spirits by wholesale. It still retains a strong sense of family and family values, and of providing excellent value for money — all of which were espoused by James Speed and Jerome Saccone. n The full story of Saccone & Speed is told in Richard Garcia’s book Wholesome Wines and Kindred Spirits: Saccone & Speed, 1839 – 2014 which has been published by Saccone & Speed.
1906 advertisement shows Saccone & Speed premises, 130 Main Street (corner of Market Lane)— the company’s headquarters until the move to Devil’s Tower Road
1900 Gibraltar Directory GIBRALTAR MAGAZINE • MAY 2014
42-47-_mar.indd 43
1930 Gibraltar Directory
James Speed Jr, Leonor Speed and James Andrews-Speed
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