Jack Cohen is best known for his foundation of the hugely successful Tesco brand, and his launch of the country's first purpose-built supermarket put Maldon on the map as the site of an innovative shopping experience, which may come as a surprise to some.

However, Jack Cohen's 81 years saw a lot more than this. Born Jacob Edward Kohen in London in 1898, he joined the Royal Flying Corps in 1917. He served in France, Egypt and Palestine, not as a flier but as ground crew, working as a tailor shaping fabric for balloons and planes (aircraft were constructed of wood and fabric).

His service connections helped after the war, as he used surplus NAAFI stock as the basis of his first grocery stall in Hackney. He purchased a shipment of tea from T.E. Stockwell in 1924, and combined the T.E.S. initials with the beginning of his surname to create the Tesco brand name. The first Tesco shop opened in 1931 in Barnet.

During this time Jacob also anglicised his name to John (Jack) Edward Cohen. By 1939 he had over a hundred Tesco stores across the country. Concerned for the safety of his children in London during the Blitz, Cohen bought Little London Farm in Goldhanger in 1940 and used it as a family refuge.

He didn't slacken during his country retreat, launching the Goldhanger Fruit Farms company in 1944. This became the location of the UK's first cold store, and the Snowkist brand of frozen fruit and vegetables was developed. The 'Kingsmere' label was introduced for canned products and eventually sold to Woolworths. Maldon East goods yard was a major trans-shipment point for the canned goods.

Cohen chose his adoptive home town as the location for his famous venture – the supermarket. It was opened in 1956 in the High Street (though it was initially run under the Burnards brand, a company previously bought out by Tesco). The store introduced the concept of separate cheese and meat counters. The High Street location had previously been the Hippodrome Cinema. The same spacious site is now occupied by Sark.

Though the Tesco empire continued to grow, the Goldhanger Fruit Farms business was sold to Cadbury Schweppes in 1958. They sold it on to TKM Foods in the 1970s, and it was closed down in the 1980s. Jack Cohen died in 1981.