Shepherds Friendly Society is a UK friendly society and one of the oldest

mutual insurer A mutual insurance company is an insurance company owned entirely by its policyholders. It is a form of consumers' co-operative. Any profits earned by a mutual insurance company are either retained within the company or rebated to policyholders ...

s in the world. It is an incorporated society in the United Kingdom within the meaning of the Friendly Societies Act 1992. It has over 100,000 members.

History

The

Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution, sometimes divided into the First Industrial Revolution and Second Industrial Revolution, was a transitional period of the global economy toward more widespread, efficient and stable manufacturing processes, succee ...

led to major changes in society, with village communities diminishing and new towns and industries springing up. As there was no state provision for the poor, mutual aid organisations known as friendly societies were established to help families against hardship brought about by illness or death. Such societies began as locally based groups, whose members contributed a small amount each month so that payouts could be made to those in need, with the rest of the money received either saved or invested. Shepherds Friendly started life as a sickness and benefits society, Ashton Unity, which was formed in

Ashton-under-Lyne Ashton-under-Lyne is a market town in Tameside, Greater Manchester, England. The population was 48,604 at the 2021 census. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, it is on the north bank of the River Tame, Greater Manchester, ...

, Lancashire on Christmas Day in 1826. It was later renamed as the Loyal Order of Ancient Shepherds, " loyal" referring to the Crown and "

shepherds A shepherd is a person who tends, herds, feeds, or guards flocks of sheep. Shepherding is one of the world's oldest occupations; it exists in many parts of the globe, and it is an important part of Pastoralism, pastoralist animal husbandry. ...

" to the Nativity of Jesus. Its objects were "to relieve the sick, bury the dead, and assist each other in all cases of unavoidable distress, so far as in our power lies, and for the promotion of peace and goodwill towards the human race". It later spread across the country, organised into local branches; like other friendly societies such as the

Oddfellows Odd Fellows (or Oddfellows when referencing the Grand United Order of Oddfellows or some British-based fraternities; also Odd Fellowship or Oddfellowship) is an international fraternity consisting of lodges first documented in 1730 in London. ...

, these were known as 'lodges', and officers wore regalia somewhat similar to those of

freemasons Freemasonry (sometimes spelled Free-Masonry) consists of fraternal groups that trace their origins to the medieval guilds of stonemasons. Freemasonry is the oldest secular fraternity in the world and among the oldest still-existing organizati ...

. By 1914 the membership had grown to 143,000. The Ancient Shepherds raised substantial funds from its members to support charities, presenting two lifeboats to the

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest of the lifeboat services operating around the coasts of the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. Founded in 1824 ...

in the 1800s, and supported the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

and

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

in the Second World War. Various similar mutual associations have since amalgamated with it, including the Royal Shepherds Sanctuary Benefit Society which was established in Yorkshire in the early 19th century, and the Ancient Order of Shepherds.

Current products

Shepherds Friendly Society has changed from a traditional insurance provider to a modern diversified

financial services Financial services are service (economics), economic services tied to finance provided by financial institutions. Financial services encompass a broad range of tertiary sector of the economy, service sector activities, especially as concerns finan ...

organisation.Why half the members of trade unions have private health care
''Daily Telegraph'', 11 Sep 2001 It offers a range of savings, protection and insurance plans for its members.

References

External links

* {{Official website, 1=http://www.shepherdsfriendly.co.uk Friendly societies of the United Kingdom Financial services companies established in 1826 Companies based in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport 1826 establishments in the United Kingdom