John "Jack" Robson Gregg (1909–1964) was an English businessman, best known as the founder of

Greggs Greggs plc is a British bakery chain. It specialises in savoury products such as bakes, sausage rolls, sandwiches and sweet items including doughnuts and vanilla slices. It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is listed on t ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

's largest

bakery A bakery is an establishment that produces and sells flour-based food baked in an oven such as bread, cookies, cakes, donuts, pastries, and pies. Some retail bakeries are also categorized as cafés, serving coffee and tea to customers who ...

chain.

Biography

Gregg was born at Canada Street,

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, in 1909. At the age of 14 he joined the family egg and yeast business. He would make deliveries on his pushbike to local working-class homes.How famous bakery rose from pushbike yeast deliveries
Evening Chronicle, 19 March 2008. He acquired a van in the 1930s. Gregg was called up to serve in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and during this time his wife bought a second van and started distributing

confectionery Confectionery is the art of making confections, which are food items that are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Exact definitions are difficult. In general, however, confectionery is divided into two broad and somewhat overlapping categories ...

as well as ingredients for bread. In 1939 he founded

, a family bakery store in

Tyneside Tyneside is a built-up area across the banks of the River Tyne in northern England. Residents of the area are commonly referred to as Geordies. The whole area is surrounded by the North East Green Belt. The population of Tyneside as published i ...

, with its first shop opening in 1951 on

Gosforth Gosforth is a suburb of the city and metropolitan borough of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It constituted a separate Urban district (Great Britain and Ireland), urban district from 1895 until 1974 before officially merging with the city of New ...

high street.Takeaway market holds key to Greggs' future
Northern Echo, 18 November 2003. By 1953 the business consisted of one shop and six vans selling products from the bakery. He died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

in 1964. After his death, his son, Ian Gregg, took over the family business.

Personal life

He was married to Elsie and together they went on to have two sons, Colin and Ian, and one daughter, Gay. He was also known by the name "Jack". He was a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

References

1964 deaths British retail company founders Freemasons of the United Grand Lodge of England Businesspeople from Newcastle upon Tyne 1909 births English Anglicans Deaths from lung cancer British Army personnel of World War II 20th-century English businesspeople {{UK-business-bio-stub