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Thomas Wilson Sons & Co.

Former British shipping company

Former British shipping company

FieldValue
logo_upright
industryShipping
predecessors
foundedin England
founder
defunct
fateSold
successorEllerman's Wilson Line
area_served
owner
num_employees_year
website

Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. was a British shipping company, founded in 1840, It evolved from a joint venture formed by merchants Thomas Wilson, John Beckinton and two unrelated partners named Hudson in 1822.

The company expanded and by the early 20th century operated a relatively large fleet, but in 1906 part of the operation was merged with the North Eastern Railway creating Wilson's & North Eastern Railway Shipping Co. Ltd and later in 1916 the remaining company was sold to Sir John Ellerman who created Ellerman's Wilson Line which continued to trade until closed in 1973.

Background

;1822–1836 Beckington, Wilson and Company

None of the partners came from shipping background but were quick to see the opportunity of becoming involved in the industry and they acquired their first sailing ship the "Thomas and Ann" in 1825, and a schooner "Swift" in 1831.

;1836–1840 Wilson, Hudson and Company

In about 1836 John Beckington dropped out of the partnership and the new company was formed.

History

;1840–1850 Thomas Wilson and Company

The two Hudson partners retired in 1840–41 allowing Thomas Wilson to take full control. He brought his eldest son David into the business as his partner.

;1850–1916 Thomas Wilson Sons and Company :(became a Limited company in 1891)

In 1850 his other sons Charles and Arthur joined and became active partners, the name changing to Thomas Wilson Sons and Company, though usually known as the Wilson Line of Hull.

Thomas died in 1869 and the company was taken over by his sons Charles and Arthur Wilson, with David remaining a silent partner. A few years later the brothers were beginning to question the ability of their own sons to continue running the firm and brought in a non-family member, Oswald Sanderson, to become the new Managing Director.

Orlando at sea around 1870

In 1878 the company purchased the seven ship fleet of Brownlow Marsdin and Co., bringing the Wilson fleet to 52 ships.

In 1903 23 ships were purchased from Bailey & Leetham.

In 1906 part of the operation was merged with the North Eastern Railway creating Wilson's & North Eastern Railway Shipping Co. Ltd.

In 1906 the company purchased the shares in the ailing local firm Earle's Shipbuilding and ordered ships from them.

;1916–1973 Ellerman's Wilson Line

The company was sold to Sir John Ellerman in 1916, owner of the successful Ellerman Line and supposedly the richest man in Britain at the time. There can be little doubt that the loss of three of its largest and most prestigious ships to enemy action (Aaro and Calypso sunk; Eskimo captured) in a three-week period in the summer contributed greatly to the Wilson family's decision to sell the company. Though it kept the Wilson name (Ellerman's Wilson Line of Hull) and continued for several years, it never saw the same success, despite a brief revival in the 1950s, and was eventually closed in 1973 when the Ellerman company turned its focus elsewhere.

Development

From a background in iron importing, the focus was on steam shipping, still in its early stages and eventually saw the company become a prominent figure in modern steam shipping. Initially, the firm concentrated on Swedish iron ore importing for the Sheffield iron trades but gradually turned to focus on shipping all over the world, with Hull becoming one of the most significant ports to flourish under the advent of steam. Previously getting out of the Humber Estuary was difficult despite the convenient location of Hull, but with steam, it became easy to reach the sea and navigate around Britain.

Relevance

At one time the firm was well on its way to becoming the world's largest private shipowner. The company stands out as one of interest in the maritime and business world of the period, as it provides an example of the changing fortunes of a family business. It has been suggested that Thomas Wilson is a good example of the emergence of specialist shipowners at this time.

Livery

Funnels: Red with black top.

Hull: black (Thomas Wilson Sons) or dark green (Ellerman's Wilson) but occasionally white where the vessel had refrigerated capacity.

Passenger vessels of Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. / Ellerman's Wilson Line

ShipLaunchedTonnage
(GRT)Notes and references
Tasso1852610Built by Denny and launched as Scandinavian but renamed Tasso in 1870.
Hero1861985Hero was 224.3 ft x 29.2 ft x 15.7 ft, 150 hp, 3-masted screw steamer, launched in March 1861 by Earle's Shipbuilding for the Scandinavia/Baltic service. She was a sold for use by the Confederate States of America, to run the blockade between Nassau and Charleston, until she ran aground on 23 June 1862, near Fort Moultrie. She probably ran the blockade to Charleston again, before Black Ball Line, Liverpool bought her in 1863. She was sold to Bright Bros, arriving at Melbourne, via Cape Town on 18 September 1863, after leaving Liverpool on 22 July, the wheel having been broken and cabins inundated by a cyclone on the way. Her 2 engines used 17 tons of coal a day to run at 11.5 knot. Her saloon was described as somewhat superior, very capacious, well ventilated and accommodating about 40 passengers. In 1873 she was sold to Grice, Sumner & Co, Melbourne and in 1878 to the Union Company for the Auckland-Sydney route. She was laid up at Sydney until 1891, when she went to La Societe Le Nickel, Nouméa for use as a hulk. She was wrecked in a hurricane at Kouaoua on 22 January 1901.
Hero18661,034The second Hero was 229.3 ft x 30.6 ft x 20.8 ft, schooner rigged, single screw, launched in February 1866 by Earle's Shipbuilding for Wilson Line, with 2 decks, 2 bulkheads and 3 partial bulkheads and 180 hp 4-cylinder (2 x 27in, 47in, stroke 30in) compound engines from 1873 by C. D. Holmes, Hull. From 1876 to 1881 she ran from Hull to Oslo and Kristiansand, then operated on the Hull–Trondheim service, with Tasso until 1884. From 1889 she was joined by Cameo. Hero remained on the route until 1892. She was scrapped at Hull after a collision in the English Channel on 22 June 1895, which sank Lamport & Holt's Bessell.
Rollo1870Built by Earle's Shipbuilding for Gothenburg service
Orlando1870Probably a sister of Rollo built by Earle's for Gothenburg service.
Eldorado18733,300Built for Wilson's Indian service.
Romeo18801,840Built by Earle's Shipbuilding for Hull–Gothenburg service.
Juno18821,302Built by Earle's mainly for Hull–Hamburg service.
Eldorado1885935Built by Earle's for the Hull to Bergen service and exclusively for passengers.
Eldorado18861,382
1,425Built by Earle's Shipbuilding as a replacement for the earlier vessel of same name on Hull to Stavanger & Bergen route.
Juno18891,080Built by Earle's mainly for use on Hull–Trondheim route with the Hero. Sold in 1899 to Bergen Line who employed her on their Hamburg–Kristiansand–Vadsø service having renamed her Hera.
Ariosto18892,376Built by Earle's Shipbuilding for the Hull–Gothenburg service and was the largest North Sea passenger vessel of her day. Romeo was her running mate on the service which carried large numbers of emigrants on what was the first leg of the journey to the New World.
Tasso18901,328Built by Earle's Shipbuilding for the Trondheim route. Lengthened in 1899 and later switched to Hull–Bergen service.
Montebello18901,735Built by Richardson, Duck and Company, at Stockton-on-Tees for the Kristiansand and Oslo service.
Spero18961,132Built by Archibald MacMillan & Co at Dumbarton.
Zero18961,143Near sister of Spero although built at Earle's in Hull.
Salmo18971,721Built by Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company in Dundee at a time when Earle's were experiencing considerable difficulties.
Una18991,406Built by John Scott & Co at Kinghorn for Hull shipowner Bailey & Leetham, who had been taken over by Thomas Wilson in 1903.
Calypso19042,876Built by Earle's Shipbuilding and was largest North Sea passenger vessel of her day. She was the first two-funnelled vessel in the owner’s short sea fleet.
Oslo19062,296Built by Earle's Shipbuilding and notable for her name as the Norwegian capital only adopted that name in 1927.
Aaro19092,603Built by Earle's and was the first of the regular Humber ferries to have a W/T aerial fitted between her two very tall masts.
Eskimo19103,326Built by Earle's for the Oslo service and was quite unlike any other vessel built for the line before her. Achieved an average speed of 17.3 knots on trial thus becoming the line's fastest vessel by a considerable margin.
Bayardo19113,570Built by Earle's for the Gothenburg service. Very similar to the Eskimo (1910) in general design but was slightly larger with only one funnel. Her slightly larger size afforded her the title 'The Queen of the Fleet'.
Rollo18993,658Acquired in 1920 to replace war losses. Built by Barclay Curle in Glasgow as the Fantee for the Elder Dempster Lines managed African Steamship Company's West African trade.
Orlando19044,233The second vessel acquired in 1920 to replace war losses. Built in Aberdeen by Hall Russell & Company for the Harrison / John T. Rennie service from the U.K. to Natal.
Calypso18973,817The third vessel acquired in 1920 to replace war losses. Built by Sir Raylton Dixon in Middlesbrough and entered service as the Bruxellesville between Antwerp and the Congo for the Woermann controlled Soc. Maritime du Congo.
Spero19221,589Built by the Dundee Shipbuilding Company at a time when shipbuilding capacity was fully stretched.
Bravo19471,798Built by Henry Robb of Leith.
Borodino19503,206Built by Ailsa Shipbuilding Company of Troon she was the last conventional passenger/cargo vessel in the Wilson fleet. Entered service from Hull to Copenhagen and Aarhus in the joint service with DFDS and switched in 1965 to the similar service out of London.
Spero19666,916Built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead for the Hull–Gothenburg service but spent part of 1966 also serving London.

References

Bibliography

  • Greenway, Ambrose (1986); A Century of North Sea Passenger Steamers; Shepperton, Ian Allan; .
  • Haws, Duncan (1993); Merchant Fleets – Britain's Railway Steamers – Eastern & North Western + Zeeland and Stena; Hereford, TCL Publications; .

References

  1. Greenway (1986), p. 48
  2. Haws (1993), p. 144
  3. Greenway (1986), p. 56
  4. Greenway (1986), p. 59
  5. Greenway (1986), p. 53
  6. (2014-06-10). "The Register of Australian and New Zealand Shipping 1876-1877 by Australian National Maritime Museum - Issuu".
  7. John M. Dullum. (2 June 2000). "Unremitting Vigilance: Naval Intelligence and the Union Blockade during the American Civil War".
  8. (23 July 2022). "Blockade Runner Hero".
  9. "Ship Descriptions - H".
  10. (1863-09-19). "SHIPPING.". The Herald, Melbourne.
  11. (21 March 1891). "The old s.s. Hero. Poverty Bay Herald".
  12. (27 April 1891). "Shipping. Evening Star".
  13. (1901-01-29). "STORM AT NEW CALEDONIA.". Australian Star.
  14. "SS Biela (1895) – collision with SS Hero". wrecksite.eu.
  15. "Hero (2), Wilson Line".
  16. Greenway (1986), p. 51
  17. "Lamport and Holt Line".
  18. Greenway (1986), p. 49
  19. Greenway (1986), p. 50
  20. Greenway (1986), p. 52
  21. "SS Photios (1920)". wrecksite.eu.
  22. Greenway (1986), p. 54
  23. Greenway (1986), p. 55
  24. "SS Juan Illueca (1960)". wrecksite.eu.
  25. Greenway (1986), p. 57
  26. Greenway (1986), p. 58
  27. "SS Bayardo (1912)". wrecksite.eu.
  28. Greenway (1986), p. 60
  29. Greenway (1986), p. 61
  30. Greenway (1986), p. 62
  31. Greenway (1986), p. 63
  32. (December 2017). "MV Spero". Faktaomfartyg.nu}}{{dead link.
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