Sea Breezes, G.J. Drury, 1963
Goole Steam Shipping Company's 91 Years
The Goole Steam Shipping Co, Ltd, is one of the oldest and best-known East Coast shipping companies trading between Britain and the near Continental ports, and one which owned at the outbreak of the First World War a fleet of some 25 cargo steamers, each having accommodation for a limited number of passengers. Goole docks were declared open as a Customs port on April 6, 1828, and during the next 30 years, trade continued to flourish so that by the early 'sixties a regular service had been established between Goole and the near Continental West Coast ports by Watson, Cunliffe and Company, who were the principal shipowners at that period
by George J. Drury
Origin of the Goole Steam Shipping Company dates back to 1864, when a great disaster befell the port by the failure of Watson, Cunliffe and Company. Following this tragic event, several influential local landowners immediately formed the Goole Steam Shipping Company in order to recover the trade of the port, and the enterprise did much during its first half-century's existence to fill the docks with profitable trade.
Since those early days 91 years ago, the company has continued to prosper and to expand, until today ships of the company, with their funnel colours of square black top, three-quarter square red band, and long buff below, or as they were colloquially called by the older generation of ABs. and OS, the 'soot, blood, and suet' (line), have penetrated into nearly every western Continental seaport, as well as into several in the Mediterranean.
Among the early directors of the newly-formed Goole Steam Shipping Co. Ltd, were Mr John Wells of Boothferry; Mr Ralph Creke, the Squire of Rawcliffe; Mr John Bladworth, JP, of Whitgift; Lord Houghton; and Mr Richard Moxon, JP. The registered offices of company were at the Custom House Buildings, Goole, and the earliest steamers to carry the black, red and buff funnel colours were the COLLETIS, an iron steamer, built at Glasgow in 1856, with dimensions: 159 x 23 x 13ft, loaded draft, of 318 registered gross tons. She was sold out of the fleet in 1870 after maintaining the Goole and Rotterdam service, and was disposed of to shipbreakers in 1886. There was also the KILLARNEY, an iron steamer, built by Scott and Company, at Greenock, in 1856, and acquired from the Clyde Shipping Co. Ltd, in 1860. With original dimensions: 148½ x 22 x 11½ft, she was lengthened by Humphrey and Pearson of Hull in 1872, to 171ft.
The news of the loss of the KILLARNEY, under the command of Capt. Rowbottom, reached Goole on to morning of Sunday, September 21, 1884, and created a great sensation. No serious accident had occurred in the river between Hull and Goole since 1876, when the steamer NEWSKY was lost. Great satisfaction was expressed when it was known that the whole of the crew of the KILLARNEY had been saved.
The tide was about half-ebb at the time the KILLARNEY touched the Lincolnshire shore (9.30pm on Saturday), just below Whitton Ness, and close to the lower leading lights. The vessel ran head first ashore, where she remained until midnight. She then slipped off and caught the ground on the opposite side of the channel, the engines going full ahead at the time in order to keep the ship towards the bank. At about 5 o'clock on Sunday morning she turned over, the master and crew being unable to save any of their possessions. At high water nothing of the vessel was discernible, but at low water part of her hull was visible.
Another early vessel was the DEVA, built of Iron by the Rhodell Ship-building Company at Chester In 1857, being 130 x 21 x 11¾ft, and of 247 gross tons. She was acquired by the Goole Steam Shipping Company in 1866, sold out of the fleet in 1870, and to ship-breakers in 1876. The LONDOS was built by the Richardson Shipbuilding Company, at Stockton-on-Tees in 1860, being acquired by the company in 1866. She was 155 x 22½ x 10ft, and of 285 gross tons. In 1878 she was sold out of the fleet. The ANNIE was built of steel in June 1864 by the Humber Iron Works, Hull, with dimensions 188¼ x 24 x 12¾ft, and was of 443 gross tons. She was sold in 1870 to Idarie Massoussieh and re-named ISTINIO. The VICTORIA was launched in May 1870 and appears to have served the company for only a short period, while the SEAHAM was an iron-built steamer from a North Shields yard in 1870, and was acquired in 1877. She was 167 x 30 x 13ft, of 535 gross tons, and was sunk in collision in the North Sea in the same year. The ROMEO was built of iron by McMiller and McMillan and Company, at Dumbarton in 1873, being 170 x 26 x 11½ft, and of 543 gross tons. She was subsequently sold to A. J. Aranjo, of Gozon, Spain.
Up to now there had been no uniformity in naming the vessels, but the following new ships received personal names. In 1871 the iron-built WILLIAM COULMAN was launched from the yard of McNab and Company, Greenock, with dimensions: 211 x 24¼ x 12¼ft, and was of 491 gross tons. She was placed on the Rotterdam service, and in 1878 had the misfortune to collide with Rotterdam Pier, resulting in one man being drowned. The WYNYARD, built of iron in 1870 by TW. Smith of North Shields was 166 x 30 x 13¼ft, and of 528 gross tons. She was acquired in the early part of 1877, and after running under that name for some time, was renamed JOHN BRADWORTH in November 1878; the JOHN WELLS, built by Davison Strakal at Southwick, Sunderland, in 1873, was 210¾ x 29 x 12¾ft, and of 593 gross tons. She was sold in 1886 and was disposed of in 1891; the RICHARD MOXON, built at Hull by Humphrey and Pearson in 1873, was 171 x 24½ x 11½ft, and of 440 gross tons. She was sold out of the fleet in July 1898 and disposed of in 1903.
The WALTER STANHOPE had a varied and very interesting career. Built in 1863 as an iron paddle steamer by A.J. Inglis of Glasgow, for the Laird Line, she ran as the LAUREL, followed by a spell of blockade running under the name of CONFEDERATE STATES. She was then converted into a single-screw steamer in 1869, and was acquired by the Goole Steam Shipping Company. Her dimensions were 212¾ x 25¼ x 12¼ft, and she was of 458 gross tons. Next came the LORD HOUGHTON, 790 gross tons, built of iron by the Barrow Ship Building Company; she arrived at Goole in June 1875. Her dimensions were 220 x 29½ x 13¾ft.
Then followed two vessels bearing the same name; the first RALPH CREYKE, built in 1878, foundered off Lundy Island, several lives being lost. She was followed by a second RALPH CREYKE, built by Short Brothers, Sunderland, in 1879, with dimensions 176½ x 30 x 13½ft, and was of 634 gross tons. She was lengthened in 1885 by C.D. Holmes of Hull to 207½ft, and her tonnage increased to 730 (gross). This steamer was the last remaining member of the fleet to bear a personal name. She was sold to Mr E.P. Atkinson (himself a master mariner who had commanded the Goole Steam Shipping Company's steamer FRANKFORT when engaged in the Baltic trades) on June 29, 1909; the vessel was wrecked off Flushing on October 16, 1912.
In 1884 a second change in the naming of the new vessels which were to be added to the fast growing fleet was made, the nomenclature for the next 50 years being the names of Yorkshire rivers. In the same year a link was forged between the Ouse port and the Tyne shipbuilding firm of William Dobson and Company of Low Walker, who supplied eight new steamers for the Goole company, between 1884 and 1900, and later still, four others around 1910.
The first of this new class of steamer was the OUSE, a vessel of 220 x 28¾ x 13¾ft, of 729 gross tons. She was brought from the Tyne yard by the late Capt. William Gravell, and was immediately placed on the Goole and Rotterdam service, arriving from Newcastle on the morning tide of September 6, 1884, and sailing on the evening tide with a general cargo for the Dutch port. An outstanding feature of these new vessels was that of an 8ft-high miniature galley funnel, bearing the house colours, placed aft of the engine-room skylight.
For a period of her early days the OUSE was away from Goole on charter to the West Hartlepool SS. Company. After 25 years' service, she was sold to the Russians, being renamed GOOLE TRADER of Abo, and from the Baltic made several voyages to her old home port. Two years later, on January 18, 1886, Capt. Robert Woodhead brought the AIRE from Dobson's yard. A vessel measuring 215½ x 28¾ x 75ft, with a gross tonnage of 696, she was engaged in most of the continental trades. When the First World War broke out, she was employed as a store carrier for the Fleet, subsequently becoming a collier, a mail carrier for the Army in France, and finally transporting all kinds of commodities for the Senior Service. On October 4, 1930, she was towed from Goole Docks to a point some two miles up the upstream to Hook where she was broken up.
April 28, 1887, saw the arrival of the third new steamer, the CALDER from the same yard. With dimensions: 215½ x 28¾ x 13¾ft, and of 704 gross tons, she survived the First World War, and was subsequently sold to T.W. Ward Ltd, leaving Goole on April 23, 1926 for the shipbreaker's yard. Speed had now become an essential factor in the intense rivalry which had sprung up between the Humber ports of Goole and Hull for the transport of Dutch fruit and the Rotterdam yeast trade. In order to meet this keen competition, a larger and faster steamer was built and on July 23, 1888, the DERWENT arrived from the Tyne under the command of Capt. Gravell. This new vessel was 230 x 30¾ x 14¾ft, of 830 gross tons, and was for many years engaged on the Rotterdam route. After 43 years' service from the home port, she was sold (on March 6, 1931) to T. Young of Sunderland, and was towed to the shipbreaker's yard by the Tyne and Wear Company's tug HENDON.
With trade increasing, and competition becoming still keener, it was imperative that a still faster vessel should be put in service, and so, in 1890, the WHARFE was built at Dobson's yard and brought to Goole by Capt. Gravell. This vessel was, and has remained, the longest steamer in the original Goole Steam Shipping Company's fleet. She was 245 x 32¾ x 15¾ft, of 914 gross tons. New tonnage from Hull failed to capture the markets from the WHARFE, and she remained for many years the "Greyhound of the Humber", maintaining her position against the Hull steamers SWAN, SWIFT, and SWALLOW, and still later against the newer 'Abbey' boats. The WHARFE was the only ship of the fleet to have four holds. For many years she and the DERWENT maintained a bi-weekly service to Rotterdam.
During the early days of the present century it was a frequent sight, in the season, to see the WHARFE on a Wednesday evening discharging on the quayside (adjoining the Victoria Lock) a consignment of Dutch geese and goslings which had made the voyage from Rotterdam on the hatch covering the main hold. The birds were then "marched" from the Lock Hill through the town to a field adjoining the railway station.
After a short spell of duty on the West Coast, the WHARFE was laid-up at Barrow where she was eventually broken up by T.W. Ward Ltd. The following year saw the arrival of the HEBBLE and in June 1891 she took her place in the Ghent trade. She was 225ft x 31½ x 15½ft, of 904 gross tons and for many years was commanded by Capt. H. Jordan. She became a victim of the First World War, being sunk by enemy mines on May 6, 1917. With the arrival of the steamer DON on August 6, 1892 under the command of Capt. E.D. Redford a halt was made in new building for a period of some eight years
Identical with the HEBBLE of the previous year, the DON was 225½ x 33¼ x 15½ft The two maintained a bi-weekly service to Ghent and the DON was later put on the Hamburg service. Her end also came during the First World War, for while under the command of Capt. W. Aaron, she was torpedoed by a German submarine about 4am on May 8, 1915; her crew of 16 saved and landed at North Shields. In the OUSE, AIRE, CALDER, DERWENT, WHARFE, HEBBLE and DON, previously described, passenger accommodation was in the saloon on the poop.
The last steamer from the Dobson yard to be built for the original Goole Steam Shipping Co. Ltd, was the NIDD, a vessel of 235 x 33 x 15¾ft, of 996 gross tons, which arrived, via Antwerp with a full cargo, under the command of Capt. William Mason, in August 1900. She ran for many years on the Antwerp route and had the reputation of being the finest 'horse boat' on the East Coast. In the autumn of 1933 she was chartered by the Great Western Railway, and under the command of Capt. F. Sherwood ran from Weymouth to Jersey and Guernsey in the tomato and fruit trade of the Channel Islands.
On the outbreak of the First World War the NIDD was employed as a transport, and did valuable work at Gallipoli, Salonika, Mudros, and Lemnos, and was engaged in the evacuation of Suvla Bay. Her war experiences began on July 11, 1915, although before then she had been used as a transport on the Channel service. She sailed from Harwich for Gibraltar and Malta, and then to Lemnos and Mudros, ending her war service there with the evacuation of Suvla Bay. While in that area she was able to save a number of horses from a vessel named the NORSEMAN which had been torpedoed by a German submarine. For the remainder of the War the NIDD was again employed on the cross-Channel service, and at the conclusion of hostilities she was reconditioned and used for repatriation purposes, returning to Goole on April 29, 1919, when she resumed her service to Belgian ports. She was subsequently laid-up at Barrow, and on August 23, 1933 was sold to the Darwen and Mostyn Iron Company, Ltd, of Mostyn, North Wales, to be broken up.
Additional tonnage was added to the fleet when, in the early part of 1895, they took over the three steamers of the Humber Steam Shipping Co. Ltd. The oldest of the trio was the ROSA, a vessel with dimensions: 180 x 26 x 11½ft, of 462 gross tons, built by the Goole Engineering and Shipbuilding Company in 1875, whose shipyard was where the Ocean Lock has now been cut. Employed mainly on the Harlingen and Delfzyl trades, the ROSA was sold out of the fleet to the Gale Shipping Company, on September 10, 1907.
The second vessel, the LEONA, was somewhat larger. Built in 1864 by J. Reid and Company, Port Glasgow, for the Humber Steam Shipping Company, with dimensions: 201½ x 29 x 12¼ft, (572 gross tons), she made her maiden voyage on May 28, of that year. She was a vessel of about 600 tons deadweight, and was the first steel screw-steamer for the old Humber Steam Shipping Company. Her length was subsequently increased to 210½ft, raising her gross tonnage to 768. Upon the amalgamation with the Goole Steam Shipping Company, she was engaged in the near Continental trades under her new houseflag. Her place in the fleet was taken by more modern vessels of a larger tonnage, and she eventually passed into the hands of G. B. Wadsworth and Company, engaged in the local coal export trade.
In 1903 she was again sold, and saw service between Sunderland and London under the name of GENERAL HAVELOCK, and was transferred nine years later to the Tyne-Tees Shipping Company, under the same name, registered at Newcastle. In 1926 she was sold to Schiaffino and Company, and renamed FINISTERRE of Algiers, thus passing to the French ensign. She was then employed in the Mediterranean trades. The latter part of 1929 saw the old LEONA at Gravesend where she was to be demolished. The purchase however by Mazzella, Scotto and Company again took her to Mediterranean waters, where for her last seven years she saw service between Oran and the North African ports under the name of SIDI BELYOUT, before passing, after 52 years' service, into the hands of the shipbreakers.
The third vessel, the NORMA was built of iron by JE. Scott at Greenock in 1877, and was of 490 gross tons with the following dimensions: 174½ x 26½ft x 12½ft. She was sold out of the fleet in 1891, and was later sunk in the River Ouse near Goole. Further additions to the fleet of the Goole Steam Shipping Company were all made at the same time as the purchase of the three vessels first described, by the acquisition of the units of the Yorkshire Coal and Shipping Company (Alexander Meek) - steamers specially built and strengthened in the bows for the rough weather and ice encountered on the Hamburg and Baltic routes.
First of this class of vessel, the ALTONA, came from the yard of W.B. Thompson, Dundee, in 1877, and was 202 x 28¼ x l3ft, of 672 gross tons. Under her new owners she was placed on the Delfzyl and Harlingen trades. On August 13, 1908, inward bound with general cargo from Delfzyl, in order avoid running into a string of keels in tow of a Goole tug, she was run ashore on the training wall on the South bank of the Ouse near the Barracks. At low water, the ALTONA lay in a very precarious position with the fore part of her till resting on the fairly steep bank and training wall; the after part lay in the water and it was at one state of the tide feared that she might heel oven. Fortunately she refloated on the evening tide, and appeared little the worse for the mishap.
Just before the First World War she was used as a coal storage hulk for the company's fleet, but on the outbreak of hostilities, was reconditioned and put back into service being renamed RIVER CRAKE. She was ultimately disposed of on October 20, 1927, and was towed to Sunderland for breaking up. The next vessel to follow from the same yard, the CUXHAVEN arrived from Dundee on June 7, 1682; she was 220 x 32 x 14ft, and of 756 gross tons. She was sold out of the fleet on July 28, 1910, and was followed two years later by the DRESDEN which arrived at Goole on July 5, 1884. This steamer was 230 x 32 x 14ft, and of 882 gross tons. After years of service on the Antwerp route, she was sold to Mann, MacNeal and Co. Ltd, West Hartlepool on October 2, 1907.
The fourth vessel of Meek's fleet to come under the company's houseflag was the EMDEN, of 787 gross tons and dimensions: 220 x 32 x 14ft, which arrived from Earle's Shipbuilding Company, Hull, in April 1887. In 1896 she had the misfortune to be in collision with the steamer ALEXANDER in Hull Roads, when 11 lives were lost. On the outbreak of the First World War she was taken over by the Admiralty (on October 8, 1914) and renamed WENNING. While engaged in the Jersey potato trade she was in collision in the Channel on Friday, June 12, 1931 with the Greek steamer IOANNUS VATIO. The WENNING was severely damaged and arrived in Goole on the following Friday. She was laid-up in the West Dock for 24 weeks. Her last voyage from Goole was on December 9, 1931, when she sailed for Dunstan to be broken up.
A still larger vessel came from the Hull yard on June 18, 1888. This was the FRANKFORT, specially built for the Baltic trades, being 240 x 33 x l5ft, and with a gross tonnage of 952. She was sold out of the fleet on October 28, 1911. On July 28, 1888, the GOTHA was launched from Earle's yard at Hull. A trim-looking vessel of 220 x 29 x 14ft, (698 gross tons), she was sold after only 11 years service with the Goole Steam Shipping Company on May 20, 1899. Returning to the Dundee yard of W.B. Thompson, her former owners received the BERLIN in August 1891, thus reviving the name of a sister ship to the ALTONA, which came out in 1879, and which had been sold to the Bennett Steam Shipping Co Ltd, and re-named MALTA. The new BERLIN was 245 x 34 x 15¾ft and of 1,111 gross tons. At one period she was the largest unit of the Goole company's fleet, and was mainly engaged on the Hamburg trade. When the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company, subsequently took over the Goole company, the BERLIN was the first steamer to be put on the newly opened Copenhagen service, in 1905. When war broke out in 1914 this vessel was requisitioned by the Admiralty, and on September 18, 1916 was renamed RIVER RIBBLE. It was the BERLIN which perhaps the most exciting war-time experience of all the Goole vessels.
On the outbreak of war she was lying at Copenhagen, and remained here until 1916, when the shortage of tonnage made it imperative that she should be brought back to England, running the gauntlet of the German submarines in the North Sea. To that end, Capt. T.H. Woodhead, with Mr H.R. Aaron as first officer, and Mr F.N. Newlove as second, together with a local crew travelled from Newcastle to Bergen and so to the old BERLIN at Copenhagen. The BERLIN crept out Copenhagen and sailed from port to port in the Scandinavian neutral territory, making her way down the Kattegat and Skagerrak, carefully keeping within the 3-mile limit. From port to port her appearance was altered, her hull being repainted several times and her funnel changed to those of various neutral countries.
One morning the master received secret orders the burden of which were that he must be at a certain spot on the Norwegian coast at eight o'clock one morning. Five minutes before the appointed hour the BERLIN was waiting, but there was no sign of the convoy which was to escort her across the North Sea to safety. Naturally enough the crew of the BERLIN were very anxious, but promptly at eight o'clock smudges of smoke announced the arrival of two destroyers, and the rest was straightforward.
When the BERLIN arrived in Goole, however, she was unrecognisable, her funnel bearing the house colours of a prominent Danish shipping company. Immediately on her arrival home her name was changed to RIVER RIBBLE and she ran regularly throughout the remainder of the war on the Copenhagen service.
On May 18, 1925 the RIVER RIBBLE was being brought through the Victoria Lock at Goole by her master, Capt. F. Wadsworth, who had insisted on remaining on the bridge in spite of illness. Instead of the usual signal, the engine-room telegraph from the bridge ordered the engines to be stopped. With the vessel at a standstill, Capt. Wadsworth left the bridge, entered his cabin, and died almost immediately.
Her last voyage from Goole was on September 17, 1933 when she sailed for Gateshead where she was to be broken up. The voyage, however, did not have an uneventful ending, for as she was passing up the River Tyne to the shipbreaking yard she came in collision with the 2,500-ton collier SPANKER, owned by Witherington and Everett, of Newcastle. The SPANKER, which was about to enter drydock at Jarrow, was damaged in the collision.
An odd unit of the fleet was the steamer DINNINGTON, launched from the yard of Coulson, Cook, and Company, Newcastle, on February 28, 1874. She was 159 x 21½ x 12¼ft, and of 366 gross tons. She was peculiar by reason of her small freeboard. On March 21, 1901, she was sold out of the company and later stranded on Portland breakwater. After being salved, she was eventually lost on the Orkney Islands on February 20, 1906, when two men were drowned.
In 1901 the company bought a small vessel with dimensions: 93 x 16 x 6½ft, with a gross tonnage of 103. She had been built by J. Scarr of Beverley, Yorks, in 1894, as the West Riding, for bunkering, supplying fresh water, and for use as a fire-float. She was sold to the Stockton Shipping and Salvage Co. Ltd, and left Goole on December 9, 1947, being towed to her destination by the tug KINGS CROSS. In 1903 the Goole Steam Shipping Company went North to the Clyde for new tonnage, and during that year received from the Clyde Shipbuilding Company, Port Glasgow, the COLNE, a vessel 234 x 3l x 15ft, of 874 gross tons. She was built and refrigerated primarily for the Goole - Copenhagen trade. Another vessel was the HUMBER of 240 x 33 x 15ft, of 1,022 gross tons, built by Archibald McMillan and Company, Dumbarton, which reached Goole on August 26, of that year. Both vessels came to a tragic end.
At the beginning of March 1906, the COLNE was in drydock undergoing repairs, and her place on the Copenhagen run was taken by the HUMBER, which left Goole under the command of Capt. Newlove. The COLNE however was sent to Rotterdam with a general cargo of coal and other cargo, while on deck were bales of wool, machinery, and 13 horses. The ill-fated steamer left Goole about 8am on Sunday, March 11, under the command of Capt. Townsley. About five o'clock on Monday morning, the 12th, the COLNE had reached a point about 35 miles West of the Maas light-ship, when she ran into a terrific gale, which increased in intensity.
The COLNE found herself in great difficulties owing to the shifting of the deck cargo which appeared to have jammed against the steering rods. In spite of all exertions she continued to plunge helplessly broadside on to raging seas. The doomed ship took a heavy list to port and gradually filled. The lifeboat had been launched from the port side. Six of the crew and the master were saved by the trawler Uncle Dick and landed at Ramsgate. The 12 missing men were E.P.W. Alcock (first mate), R. Cleaves (second mate), R. Morley, (first engineer), H. Ellwood (second engineer), H. Abson, C. Frieberg, G. Harrison, R. Snowden, J. Smith, T. Middleton, H. Chappell, and CW. Axup.
For some time after the loss of the COLNE, the HUMBER was retained on the Copenhagen run. In the early days of her career she had the misfortune to sink the German steamer MODENA, when two lives were lost, and then while on a voyage to Hamburg she herself was sunk on February 12, 1912 by the 5,000-ton German steamer ANSWALD.
Great changes were now to take place in the history of the Goole Steam Shipping Company, for on January 1, 1905 the whole concern passed into the hands of the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway Company. To the casual onlooker there appeared to be little change in the management, as the funnel colours were retained by the L. and Y. Rly, and the houseflag - blue and red diagonally with the Maltese Cross in white in the centre - remained the same except for the insertion of the letters 'L' an 'Y' on the blue ground at the top left corner of the hoist and the bottom right-hand of the fly. Refrigerating plant was fitted in two of the vessels to be engaged in the Copenhagen trade and on May 1, 1906, the three ships of the Co-operative Wholesale Society Limited - the EQUITY, LIBERTY, and UNITY - were bought by the L. and Y. Rly. and put under the black, red, and buff colours of the Goole Steam Shipping Company, the steamers however retaining their original names.
The oldest of the trio was the EQUITY, which was built by Earle's Shipbuilding Company Hull, in 1888, being 225 x 32 x 14¾ft, and of 627 gross tons. She was subsequently lengthened to 247½ft, and gross tonnage increased to 924. An additional hold was placed amid-ships between the funnel and the bridge. She was seized at Hamburg during the First World War and the crew interned, the officers being Capt. R.H. Sherwood, Mr J.A. Collier, first officer; Mr C. Melrose, second officer; Mr W. White, chief engineer; and Mr C. Sales, second engineer. She returned to Goole after the cessation of hostilities and sometime later, while on the Jersey trade, was sunk at Alderney later to be salved. Becoming redundant, the EQUITY was sold to the British Iron and Steel Corporation and left Goole on December 1931 for Grangemouth, where she was to be broken up.
The second of the CWS. vessels to change hands was the LIBERTY of 225 x 33 x 14½ft, (895 gross tons), built in 1890 by Earle's Shipbuilding Company, Hull. She was ultimately sold for breaking up, leaving Goole on December 11, 1931 for Sunderland. The last of the three was the UNITY (246¾ x 36¾ x 15ft), of 1,091 gross tons, built in November 1902 by Murdoch and Murray, Port Glasgow for the Hamburg trade of her previous owners. She saw much service in the First World War, escaping the submarine attack in which the RYE was lost in the Channel in April 1918, but being herself torpedoed by an enemy submarine the month following (May 2, 1918).
During the same early period of ownership, the L. and Y. Rly, brought the twin-screw passenger and cattle ship MELLIFONT of Drogheda, from the West Coast, for service on the Goole and Antwerp trade, under the command of Capt. C.R. Thorpe. Built by Vickers, Son, and Maxim, Barrow, in 1903 the vessel was 260 x 35 x 14½ft, and was of 1,088 gross tons. After six years' service (1906 - 1912) on the East Coast, she returned to the West Coast, where, with her sister-ship the COLLEEN BAWN she passed into the hands of shipbreakers. In the summer months the L. and Y. Rly, also brought from the West Coast the twin-screw steamer DUKE OF CLARENCE, 312 x 36 x l5ft, and of 1,653 gross tons, built in 1892 by Laird Brothers, Birkenhead, for passenger service between Hull (Riverside Quay) and the Belgian port of Zeebrugge, under the command of Capt. Wm. Prentice. She was sold to Thos. W. Ward, Ltd, in 1930 and broken up at Barrow.
The L. and Y. Rly, placed orders with Swan, Hunter, and Wigham Richardson of Low Walker-on-Tyne for two sister-ships of a somewhat greater tonnage and length than hitherto, and it was on April 9, 1906 that the first of the two, the MERSEY, made her maiden voyage from Goole under the command of Capt. George Arnold. With a length of 255ft (bp.), and 265ft, overall, beam of 36ft, and a draft of 15½ft, she served on all the Continental routes from Goole, During the First World War she was employed as a cable vessel, her gross tonnage being increased to 1,211 tons. While on active service during the Second World War she was sunk by enemy action off Dover on April 20, 1940. The casualty list was a heavy one, those being lost with the ship including Capt. W. Rockett, Mr J.A. Vickers (second mate); T.W. Garner (steward); C.K. Riggall, J.P. Leddy, T. Nichols, F. Overington, K. Barker, H. Walters, F. Huntington, H. Duchemon, E.W. Cox, S.A. Clark, and H.W. Taun. Of the rest of the crew, three escaped unhurt, and three were injured and taken to hospital.
A sister-ship the IRWELL 1,040 gross tons arrived at her home port in June, and was immediately placed on the Rotterdam service, with occasional diversions to other ports as circumstances demanded. Like her sister, the IRWELL survived the First World War, and during the Second World War was for some time engaged in Icelandic and North Atlantic waters. After the cessation of hostilities, she was for a period engaged on the Irish milk run between Larne and Loch Ryan. After 48 years of service, and following a survey at Immingham, she left this port on April 2, 1954 for the Tyne where she was to be broken up.
Towards the end of December 1906, the L. and Y. Railway Company purchased the steamer RAWCLIFFE from the Wetherall Steam Shipping Company of Goole, which had received her from the yard of John Crown and Sons, Ltd, Sunderland, six months previously. With dimensions of 215 x 32½ x l4ft, she was of 866 gross tons, and like the SALTMARSHE of the same dimensions, which had been built for the Wetherall Company in June 1907, from the yard of W. Pickersgill and Sons, Sunderland, was transferred to the Goole Steam Shipping Company, later in the same year. The ships were engaged in the coal and bulk carrying trade of her new owners. Both vessels were disposed of to shipbreakers, the SALTMARSHE leaving Goole on December 12, and the RAWCLIFFE on December 15, 1931, for Bo'ness.
In order to maintain the Copenhagen trade with up-to-date vessels, the railway company received the steamer DOUGLAS from the Clyde Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Port Glasgow, in February 1907; she was a refrigerated vessel with dimensions 236¾ x 32 x 15ft, and a gross tonnage of 950. This trade had previously been maintained by the BERLIN and HUMBER following the loss of the COLNE in the previous year, but with the arrival of the new steamer, the HUMBER was withdrawn.
The DOUGLAS remained on the Copenhagen route with the BERLIN until 1914, when she was joined by the ROTHER; the two ships maintaining the 'butter' trade until March 31, 1934 when she was permanently taken off the Copenhagen trade, and her hull painted black. She was then employed in the general Continental runs, with occasional trips to the Danish capital as a relief refrigerated vessel, until April 3, 1937, when she was sold to the Stanhope SS. Company, and after refitting, sailed to Antwerp under her new owner's colours as the STANCOURT. On July 27, 1937 she was again resold to Greeks.
Further new tonnage was added to the fleet with the arrival of the SPEN (215¾ x 32 x 14ft, 900 gross tons) from the yard of Wm. Dobson and Company, Low Walker-on-Tyne, in December 1908. Like the RAWCLIFFE and SALTMARSHE she was built for bulk cargoes. As an Admiralty transport between Newhaven and North French ports, the SPEN also had her share of adventures. Being chased by a German submarine was perhaps the outstanding thrill of her wartime service, and for showing a clean pair of heels Capt. W. Allen received a gold watch.
Just prior to the war, however, the SPEN had created some alarm and anxiety in the port, for on one trip across the North Sea she became overdue. The worst was feared in Goole, but eventually the SPEN turned up. Commanded by Capt. J/W. Kitwood, she had been caught in a severe storm; the only chance of safety had been to ride it out. Her cables were used as sea anchors, and for days she was tossed about like a cork.
To reach Goole after the storm abated, the woodwork on the vessel had to be chopped up and burned as fuel. The end of her career came on September 16, 1933 when she left the port for Middlesbrough where she was to be broken up. In March 1909 there arrived from the yard of Swan, Hunter, and Wigham Richardson, Ltd. Newcastle on Tyne, a finely-modelled type of vessel, of 240 x 34 x 14½ft, and 984 gross tons, named the DEARNE - a vessel which was to be the prototype of nine others which were to follow in the years to come. When war broke out in 1914, the DEARNE was seized at Hamburg by the Germans, and the crew, which consisted of Capt. J.K. Taylor, Mr A.J. Tasker, first officer; Mr H. Binnington, second officer; Mr C. Jackson, chief engineer; Mr W.R. Moncaster, second engineer; J. Clarke, G. Hammond, J. Johnson, C. Thompson, F.S. Porter, C.J. Sunyard, T. Kelly, B. Axup, W. Hancox, J. O'Bryan, A. Blanes, T. Lazenby, and, H. Axup, members of the crew, were interned. Put into service by the Germans, the DEARNE, was sunk in the North Sea on December 22, 1915. Unlike any other unit of the fleet, the DEARNE carried her pulling boat for dock work on the starboard side, which necessitated the steamer dropping away from the quayside before the small boat could be floated.
Another year elapsed before any further addition was made to the fleet, when in February 1910 the HODDER of 240 x 34 x 14½ft, and of 1,016 gross tons, arrived from the yard of Wm Dobson and Company Newcastle on Tyne. She was followed at the end of 1911 by two sister ships the OUSE and the ALT each of 1,004 gross tons and identical with the HODDER. All survived the First World War but the OUSE was sunk during the Second World War when, while in convoy, she was in collision with the steamer RYE, a sister ship, which was also damaged. After 43 years' service, during which time she visited nearly all the Continental ports, the ALT was sold to BISCO by the British Transport Commission on December 1, 1954, being towed from Goole by the United Towing Co's tug Masterman to Charlestown, Fife, where she was broken up. The HODDER is still in service.
Next additions to the fleet came just before the outbreak of hostilities in 1914, when in May of that year the ROTHER, a refrigerated vessel, with a white hull, was placed on the Copenhagen service in conjunction with the DOUGLAS, to be followed in the ensuing month (June) by the RYE, for the Hamburg and Antwerp trades. Both were replicas in every way of their prototype, the DEARNE, and like the DOUGLAS, were from the yard of the Clyde Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, Port Glasgow. The ROTHER has survived two wars, and now has a black hull, as she is employed in the general trades of the company, and held as a reserve refrigerated vessel. Following the cessation of hostilities she had the Honour of reopening the Copenhagen trade on October 28, 1945. Her sister the RYE was less fortunate, for she was torpedoed on April 7, 1918, some 27 miles North of Le Havre, when four lives were lost.
The First World War intervening, no flew tonnage was added until 10 years later - 1924 - but in passing it is interesting to note that the letter-head paper of the Shipping Department of the Goole Steam Shipping Company, at the beginning of 1914 had the following names of its ships printed on the left-hand side of the sheet: AIRE, ALT, ALTONA, BERLIN, CALDER, DEARNE, DERWENT, DON, DOUGLAS, ENDEN, EQUITY, HEBBLE, HODDER, IRWELL, LIBERTY, MERSEY, NIDD, OUSE, RAWCLIFFE, ROTHER, RYE, SALTMARSHE, SPEN, UNITY, and WHARFE. It will be noted from this list that five of the above-named vessels - the DEARNE, DON, HEBBLE, RYE, and the UNITY - were lost by reason of enemy action.
At this period it is also interesting to note the changes of ownership which have taken place since the company was formed in 1864. In 1905, the L. and Y. Rly, took possession, to be followed upon the formation of the four great railway groups by the LNW. Rly, in 1922, and again by the LMS. Rly, in 1924. It is also interesting to note that during the summer of 1928 in order to comply with the standard funnel colours of buff with black top of the railway companies, the red band was removed from the house colours of the Goole Steam Shipping Company. It was however for only a few weeks for the red band was for some unexplained reason restored to the Goole ships.
In order to repair the ravages of the First World War, and to bring he tonnage up to the required standard to maintain the Continental trades, the company took delivery of four new steamers during the closing months of 1924. These sister ships were the HEBBLE of 1,040 gross tons, in September, the RYE, of 1,048 gross tons, in October, from the yard of William Beardmore and Co. Ltd, Glasgow, the DEARNE of 1,043 gross tons in September, and the DON of 1,038 gross tons, in November, from Vickers, Ltd, Barrow-in-Furness. All were 240½ x 34½ x 14¾ft, and were for the near Continental trades.
When the Second World War broke out the fleet was requisitioned by the Admiralty. Unfortunately the RYE, owing to enemy action, collided with and sank the OUSE on August 4, 1940, and was herself sunk off the south-east coast on March 7, 1941 while on passage to the Humber. On November 1, 1933, the DEARNE was laid-up at Goole for a period of 17 weeks, during which time she was converted into a refrigerated vessel, her hull painted white, and sailed on her maiden voyage to Copenhagen as a 'butter' boat, on Friday, March 2, 1934, in conjunction with the ROTHER. Her sister ship, the DON, was laid-up on June 25, 1937, following an absence from Goole for three weeks on the Jersey potato trade, for a period of nine weeks for conversion to a refrigerated vessel, making her first voyage on the Copenhagen route on Friday, September 3, 1937, replacing the ROTHER which is now held as a reserve vessel.
Following her war service, the HEBBLE was on charter to the Bristol Steam Shipping Co. Ltd, for a period of some months, after which she returned to her home port, being placed on the Antwerp trade. At the beginning of January 1953 the HEBBLE went into drydock at Immingham for annual overhaul and survey. On the night of January 30, an exceptionally high tide entered the estuary of the Humber, and rolling inwards over the surrounding land, flooded the Graving Dock with the result that the HEBBLE was lifted off the dock bottom and rolled over on her port side. Her superstructures were smashed on coming in contact with the quayside, and her compartments were flooded.
The work of salvage was an unusual operation. Two 25ft, steel towers were welded to the then vertical deck to provide purchase. To avoid the danger of the vessel turning completely over on to her starboard side, the tug Deveron, loaded with gravel, maintained a strain on her port side. Two locomotives then began to pull on wires attached to the steel towers, and the HEBBLE was upright in a few hours. She was completely refitted, and arrived at Goole at 9pm on Thursday, September 24, 1953 under the command of Capt. HW. Crabtree, since when she has maintained a midweek service to Antwerp.
From 1875 to the beginning of 1930 all the units of the fleet had been built with elliptical sterns, but when the LMS. Rly went to the West Coast for new tonnage, an innovation, in the form of a heavy elliptical or 'half-cruiser' stem, was introduced into three vessels launched from the yard of Cammell Laird and Co. Ltd, Birkenhead during the last three months of 1930. The first of the trio was the CALDER, launched on October 8, followed by the BLYTH on November 6, and the AIRE on December 9. All were of 240½ x 34 x l5ft, and of 1,116 gross tons.
The CALDER reached Goole on November 30, 1930 under the command of Capt. R.H. Sherwood, making her maiden voyage to Hamburg on December 6, 1930. Her life, however, was very short, for on April 17, 1931, she left Hamburg with a full cargo for Hull and Goole. She never reached the Humber Estuary, and it was presumed that she foundered with all hands off Spurn Point on the night of Sunday, April 20. 1931. On that ill-fated voyage she was under the command, of Capt. T.W. Sutherby; the crew comprising Mr S. Chapman, first mate; Mr C.G. Harman, second mate; Mr S. Doubtfire, chief engineer; Mr F. Sherwood, second engineer; Mr K Kitwood, steward; Messrs. J. Guest, K.A. Knight, H. Snasdall, L. Armitage, C.H. Stevens, H. Coult, H. Preston, J.H. Braithwaite, L.G. Elliss, J. Lydas, C Smith, and J. Cockburn. Both Mr Chapman and Mr Harman held the rank of lieutenant, RNR.
While at anchor on December 18, 1930 after undergoing trials in the Mersey, the BLYTH was run into and had to return to the builders' yard for repairs. She eventually arrived at Goole from Birkenhead with a cargo of sand on January 12, 1931 under the command of Capt. J. Cole. She made her maiden voyage to Ghent on January 17, 1931. For some time past the BLYTH has been employed on the Hull - Antwerp - Dunkirk trades under the command of Capt. C.B.E. Eaton. Last of the three to arrive from Birkenhead was the AIRE which reached Goole on February 8, 1931 under the command of Capt. T.W. Sutherby. She made her maiden voyage to Rotterdam on February 11, and has since visited most of the Continental ports with which Goole has trade connections.
Casting our minds back over the past 50 years, we find that Father Time has brought many changes to the trade of the port. At the beginning of the present century keen rivalry existed between the fleets of Hull, Grimsby, and Goole, in the Continental trades, in which were employed a large number of fast passenger and cargo steamers of the Great Central Railway, the Hull and Netherlands SS. Co. Ltd, and the 'stroom' boats from Hull to Rotterdam and Amsterdam respectively.
To the older generation it must appear strange today to find Goole-owned steamers on the regular run between Hull and Antwerp / Dunkirk; Hull-registered vessels on the Goole - Hamburg and Goole - Antwerp trades under the command of a Goole master with a Goole crew; Goole captains in command of the MELROSE ABBEY of the Hull and Netherland SS. Co. and the BURY of the old Great Central Railway Company of Grimsby - vessels employed on the Hull - Rotterdam passenger trades, but of too great a tonnage to reach Goole; the Grimsby-registered MACCLESFIELD and the Harwich-registered FELIXSTOWE engaged in the Goole - Antwerp trades. And stranger still is the fact that all these Hull, Grimsby and Harwich vessels now carry the black, red, and buff coloured funnel of the old Goole Steam Shipping Company.
The freight rate war of the opening days of the present century has gone, and in its place has come into being the Associated Humber Lines. This is an organisation established in 1935 to manage the services between the Humber and the Dutch, Belgian, French, and German ports formerly maintained independently by the LMS. Railway from Goole, by the Hull and Netherland SS. Co. Ltd, and the Wilson's and NE. Rly. Shipping Company, from Hull; and the LNE. Rly. from Grimsby and Harwich (Parkeston Quay). The Associated Humber Lines also operate from Goole what was formerly an LMS. Rly. service between Goole and Copenhagen. When the Associated Humber Lines was formed 20 years ago, ships that were old or were becoming redundant were disposed of either by sale or by being sent to the shipbreakers, and this pooling saw the disposal of six Hull steamers, the OTTO, HULL, YORK, DARLINGTON, WHITBY ABBEY, RIEVAULX ABBEY, and JERVAULX ABBEY; six Grimsby steamers, the CITY OF BRADFORD, CITY OF LEEDS; MARYLEBONE, NOTTINGHAM, LUTTERWORTH, and staveley; 14 Goole steamers, the AIRE, ALTONA, RIVER RIBBLE, CARDER, DERWENT, DOUGLAS, WENNING, EQUITY, LIBERTY, NIDD, RAWCLIFFE, SARTMARSHE, SPEN and WHARFE; and the Harwich steamer FELIXSTOWE. The Association took the fuinnel colours of the old Goole Steam Shipping Co. Ltd, with the (letter 'AHL' in black, superimposed on the red band, while a new houseflag was also introduced.
The JERVAULX ABBEY incidentally was built by W. Gray and Co. Ltd, west Hartlepool, for the Hull and Netherlands Steam Shipping Co. Ltd, in July 1908. Of 1,188 gross tons she had dimensions: 255 x 33½ x 16ft. Sold to Far Eastern buyers for £9,500 on April 24, 1936, she arrived at Darien on June 17, 1936. The CITY OF BRADFORD was built by Earle's Company of Hull in September 1903 for the North Eastern Railway Company, Grimsby. Of 1,360 gross tons she had dimensions: 256½ x 34½ x l7ft. She too was sold out of the fleet in 1936 (September 11) when she passed to the Near East Shipping Co. Ltd, for £5,500.
Her sister, the CITY OF LEEDS with a deadweight capacity of 1,205 tons was sold to the Hughes Bolckow Shipbreaking Company at BLYTH for £6,250. The NOTTINGHAM came from the yard of Swan and Hunter, Newcastle-on-Tyne in May 1891 for the North Eastern Railway Company, Grimsby. Of 1,051 gross tons she had dimensions: 240 x 32 x 16½ft. On September 25, 1935 she went to Ward's for breaking up for about £2,600.
Commanded by a Goole master and crew, the SELBY (of the Wilson and NER. Shipping Company) is now in regular service from the Ouse port engaged in the Hamburg, Rotterdam, Antwerp cycle of sailings. She was built by the J. Duthie Torry Shipbuilding Company, Aberdeen, in October 1922, with a heavy cruiser stern, and is 228 x 34 x 15¼ft, of 1,039 gross tons.
The MACCLESFIELD is one of the few surviving units of the old Great Central Railway Company's fleet, with their black-topped white funnels which sailed daily from Grimsby to Hamburg, Rotterdam, and Antwerp prior to the outbreak of the First World War. Built in June 1914 by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd, Newcastle, she is 250 x 34 x 15ft, and is of 1,018 gross tons register. She is generally engaged in the Antwerp, Rotterdam or Hamburg trades from Goole or Hull. Like the SELBY, the HARROGATE is a Wilson and NER. unit, formerly carrying the Wilson colours of black and red, but with an additional narrow white band between the black and red. Built in January 1925 by Ramage and Ferguson, Ltd, Leith, she is 240½ x 34 x 15½ft, and is of 1,029 gross tons register. Her visits to the Ouse port are only occasional.
A Harwich-registered vessel, and formerly a Great Eastern Railway Company's cargo unit from Harwich (Parkeston Quay) to Rotterdam and Antwerp, was the FELIXSTOWE, built in 1918 by Hawthorn and Co. Ltd, Leith, with dimensions: 215 x 33¼ x 15¾ft, of 892 gross tons. She came to Goole after the cessation of hostilities in 1945 and was engaged in the Goole and Antwerp trades with occasional visits to Hamburg.
In 1950 the FELIXSTOWE was sold to the Limerick Steam Shipping Company and renamed the KYLEMORE, registered at Limerick.
Two other steamers which come under the control of the Associated Humber Lines are the MELROSE ABBEY of Hull, and the BURY of Grimsby. The former vessel is now the only surviving unit of the Hull and Netherlands SS. Company, and was built by Earle's Company, Hull, being put into service on April 23, 1929. She is 281¼ x 38 x 16ft, of 1,908 gross tons. The BURY is an old Great Central Railway Company steamer of 1,683 gross tons, and 265 x 36 x 17¾ft, and came from Earle's yard in January 1911.
Since a large amount of old tonnage had been disposed of, and no new tonnage added to the fleets of the Associated Humber Lines since 1930, it is quite obvious that the whole of this fleet, which maintains a very important service between the Yorkshire ports and the Continent is due for renewal. In 1954, two diesel-driven cargo/passenger vessels were launched from the yard of Hall, Russell and Co. Ltd, Aberdeen, for the Associated Humber Lines. The two sisters are unique in the history of the company, by reason of their being the first ever motorships and the first vessels with cruiser sterns to be built for any of the associated companies. The first of the two, the WHITBY ABBEY, arrived in Goole on July 10, 1954, followed by the FOUNTAINS ABBEY on October 9. The vessels are operating on the Goole - Amsterdam - Rotterdam - Goole and the Goole - Ghent - Antwerp - Goole services.
A wide diversity of goods are carried and a typical recent cargo included insulated containers, tomatoes, machinery, rags and tractors, the last-named being lashed on deck. The machinery is placed amidships, and there are three cargo holds, two forward, and one aft. The wheelhouse is particularly spacious; and includes the latest navigational devices. The six 2-berth passenger cabins are sited on the boat deck. There is also a dining-saloon, a smoking-room with a bar at the disposal of the passengers. The accommodation for the officers and; crew compares favourably with that designed for passengers. The principal dimensions and particulars of the new motorships are: length (oa.) 256ft, length bp. 240 x 38½ft, with 13½ft draft, gross tonnage is 1,197, net tonnage 470, deadweight 1,240 tons, and service speed 14½ knots.
What of the future? In addition to the two 'Abbeys' now in service, two other ships are now on order with Austin and Pickersgill for Goole - Copenhagen service which the Associated Humber Lines manage for the British Railways. These refrigerated vessels are expected to be in service in the early part of 1956.
