Southbank Grouping and Tartan Lums

on May 21, 2017

The Caledonian Steam Packet Co. Ltd. had all of its steamships called up for duty in World War I and had to rely on chartered vessels for much of the emergency. As with the other companies that had steamers serving, most of those that had survived the dangerous war time duties returned in dribs and drabs during 1919. Two of the steamers, Duchess of Hamilton and Duchess of Montrose, had been lost while minesweeping during the war. At the beginning of April, Duchess of Fife returned to the Clyde, followed a few days later by Caledonia, damaged badly in a collision with a freighter on the Seine. In the last week of the month, Duchess of Rothesay arrived and a few days later, the turbine Duchess of Argyll, while Marchioness of Breadalbane appeared on the first of May. The remaining unit of the fleet, Marchioness of Lorne, did not return until 1921 and was laid up in Bowling Harbour for a...

Turbine Steamers Ltd. 1919-1935

on Apr 4, 2017

In World War I, many of the Clyde steamers were called up for Admiralty service, and after the Armistice, it took the fleet many months to return to some semblance of normal peacetime duties. Mr John Williamson was manager of the Turbine fleet that sailed to Campbeltown and Inveraray with the pioneer turbine of 1901, King Edward, and Queen Alexandra, built in 1912 to replace the steamers of the same name. Both steamers had been requisitioned to carry troops across the English Channel and their return was anticipated in 1919. Queen Alexandra required little renovation after the war and she resumed service to Campbeltown at the end of June 1919. Queen Alexandra (Robertson) King Edward (Robertson) However, King Edward was not released until the end of 1919. Both were available in 1920 when Queen Alexandra was placed on the Inveraray route and King Edward sailed to Campbeltown, switching...

Aerial Views of the Clyde

on Mar 4, 2017

Photographs of the Clyde Harbours and Resorts taken from the air and made into postcards have always been popular. They are an easy way of showing where you stay whether all-year-round, or on holiday. The earliest photographs of the Clyde that were released commercially appear to have been the work of an Edinburgh Company in the years shortly after the First World War, around 1920 or 1921. They are generally marked Aerial Photos Ltd., Edinburgh. They include a good selection of the Cowal Coast, including Dunoon, Rothesay and surrounding areas in Bute, and coastal towns in the Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and Ayrshire. The photographs are oblique, taken at an angle, rather than the vertical stereo-pairs associated with mapping of later years. Quite a few show some of the steamers of the day. It is not clear what aircraft were used to obtain these photographs. Hunter’s Quay and the...

Firth of Clyde Steam Packet Co. Ltd.

on Jan 15, 2017

The history of the steamer Ivanhoe has featured in earlier articles, up to the point when she was laid up in 1906 by the Caledonian Steam Packet Co. Ltd. As the new century progressed, the pollution that characterized the upper Clyde began to be ameliorated and there was renewed interest in sailing from the heart of Glasgow. Shipyards on the Clyde were also experiencing full order books and sailing “doon the water” allowed the denizens of the city to see the latest developments that would make the Clyde known throughout the world. It was to accommodate this need that Captain Cameron brought out the Meg Merrilies and the Lady Rowena, and in 1911, the Ivanhoe was brought out of retirement. Ivanhoe in her 1911 color scheme The Firth of Clyde Steam Packet Co. Ltd. was registered on 16th February 1911 with a nominal capital of £6,000 and purchased, for £4,000 from the Caledonian...

John Williamson’s Up-river Revival

on Jan 15, 2017

In 1900, the Glasgow, Rothesay, and Kyles of Bute Steamers of John Williamson provided a summer service to Campbeltown in connection with the Glasgow and Southwestern Railway Co. with their newer vessel, Strathmore, and maintained the year-round Rothesay and Kyles of Bute connection with their veteran, Benmore. The introduction of the turbine steamer, King Edward, the following year, relieved Strathmore except at the very beginning and end of the season, and allowed Williamson to develop the Rothesay trade. This article covers the development of this trade in the years leading up to the first world war. Strathmore leaving Rothesay Strathmore leaving Princes Pier Strathmore passing Scotstoun Benmore passing Scotstoun on her way down river (Robertson, Glasgow) Glasgow Herald, June 20, 1901 Strathmore passing the cruiser Cumberland at Govan Strathmore waiting for her afternoon departure...

Robert Salmon at the Broomielaw

on Oct 31, 2016

©Glasgow Museums by permission www.glasgowlife.org.uk/museums/riverside This magnificent painting by Robert Salmon, now in the Riverside Museum, shows the Broomielaw in 1832 with an American ship among the excursion steamboats and coastal sailing craft. A most striking feature is the funnel colourings of the steamboats. Were the funnels of some of the steamboats really striped like barber-poles? Most opinion is that this is an example of artistic license. Perhaps the stay rings of the funnels were painted in a contrasting colour to the main funnel colour. Robert Napier’s steamers had red funnels with a black top and the stay-rings painted black and from that beginning evolved the colours of Cunard and those of David MacBrayne. Other vestiges that extended into the photographic era can be found in the early colours of Keith and Campbell on the Holy Loch where the black funnels had white...