In 1947, a full three years before appropriate legislation officially launched the industry, Bermuda welcomed an organisation known world-wide because of its distinctive trademark of a sea shell. With dramatic implications to fuel and light Bermuda's lawyers for future business of equal calibre, the Provident Fund of the combined petroleum companies known in The Netherlands as Voorzieningsfond Der Verbonden Petroleum Maatschappojen was transferred to Bermuda.

It had been granted exemption from payment of United Kingdom Income Tax on its investments when it had to quickly transfer its Headquarters from The Hague to London following the fall of Holland in 1940.

Thus Shell arrived in Bermuda, initially as an investment vehicle to protect the pensions of employees of all companies within the Royal Dutch Shell umbrella from unnecessary taxation by Britain.

Lawyers Conyers, Dill & Pearman, with bankers Jack Tucker (later, Sir Henry) of the Bank of Bermuda and Hal Butterfield (later, Sir Harry) of the Bank of N. T. Butterfield & Son, assisted in the transfer of Shell's Provident Fund to Bermuda.

Three Shell VIPs, Sir George Legh-Jones, Tim Wilkinson and Tim Boyle even bought land in exclusive Tuckers Town and built very expensive homes there, as a visible sign that Shell was here to stay.

Its first staff - a group of 20 mostly young ladies - arrived from England on Shell tankers on September 28, 1947. Most have since graduated to the great clamshell womb of heaven.

And its first service station - still there - was on May 12, 1952 at East Broadway in Pembroke Parish.

Shell was also the first to operate a corporate administrative structure for a collection of affiliated international companies outside the City of Hamilton, at Ferry Reach in St. George's Parish. Now they look after the retirement plan interests of Shell employees world-wide.

About half the 30 gas stations in Bermuda are owned or operated by Shell and it alone pays the Bermuda Government more than US$ 33 million a year in fuel taxes.