THE SUNDERLAND SITE - PAGE 162
SUNDERLAND BASED SHIPPING COMPANIES

May I suggest that you navigate the site via the index on page 001.PRIOR PAGE / NEXT PAGE Do you want to make a comment? A site guestbook is here. Test. To search for specific text on this page, just press 'CTRL + F' & then enter your search term. A general site search facility is here. A page already is on site about James Westoll & the James Westoll Line. This page covers other Sunderland ship owners - initially Robert H. Gayner & now Thomas Rose also - both assembled from data kindly provided by Clive Ketley, of the 'The Ketley Collection'. A small index to the present page content. 1 Thomas Rose - 'The Rose Line Limited' known as 'Tommy Rose', owning ships for over 65 years, from 1901 to 1968 2 Robert H. Gayner a fleet owner who would seem to have been in business for many decades - from 1854 to 1912 it would seem. THOMAS ROSE (c.1874/1949) THOMAS ROSE & CO. (1901/?) THE ROSE LINE LIMITED (1913/?) WEAR STEAM SHIPPING COMPANY LIMITED (1905/1917?) WEAR STEAM SHIPPING COMPANY (1917) LIMITED (1917/1931) DURHAM STEAMSHIP COMPANY LTD. (1913/?) DEESIDE SHIPPING CO. LTD., of Aberdeen WALFORD LINES (OF WYLAM WHARF, SUNDERLAND) First a few images. Hover your mouse over each thumbnail to read the subject matter. In early 1968, a tiny 'Thomas Rose' vessel of just 315 tons, the Edenside, built by Richard Ironworks Ltd., of Lowestoft, was sold to 'North East by East Shipping Co. Ltd.' of Sunderland. The vessel soon became owned by 'N. Jadavji & S. G. Hirji' of Mombasa, Kenya. A tough little vessel most clearly - it lasted until Jan. 1995 when, after 54 years of service, it was broken up at Dar-es-Salaam. A modest image of Thomas Rose (c.1874/1949). Edenside the very last vessel in the 'Thomas Rose' fleet & its sale in 1968 ended the ship owning activities of Thomas Rose & successors which activities commenced way back in 1901. A period of over 65 years & two World Wars. The ships that 'Thomas Rose' owned, directly & through a number of limited companies, were not giant ships by any imagination. They did not carry affluent passengers in floating palaces & in luxury to New York or Boston. The largest fleet vessel was indeed of just 1567 tons, & most of them were much smaller than that -  modest little coasters/colliers. In the words of 'Blue Peter' - 'There are tidal ports to visit; there are bars to cross at which long-legged ships are useless; there are little towns and villages relying upon the cargoes brought to them by the little ship. Somebody must carry the oats, the grain, the potatoes, the burnt ore; the ships must be neat and handy. It's a little fellow's trade.' The 'Thomas Rose' ships surely did all of that - also they carried cement from Denmark & Belgium, they traded to the Baltic & into the Mediterranean - but mainly they carried coal & other cargoes up & down the U.K. east coast from Sunderland to ports in Scotland & in the Shetland & Orkney Islands. Towards the end, however, such ships were unable to compete in the changing marketplace. Thomas Rose, ship owner, ship broker, shipping agent, coal exporter & many other things besides, initially owned vessels in his own name, i.e. 'Thomas Rose' or 'Thomas Rose & Co.' But in 1913 he both founded 'The Rose Line Limited' (known as 'Tommy Rose'), & through that company purchased Wylam Wharf. a wharf & related dock & warehouses facility located on the S. bank of the River Wear immediately to the west of the Bodlewell Ferry landing. Wylam Wharf? A long established wharf, then over 100 years old, owned, certainly in the 1890s, by French & Co, as you can see next. 'Bank Line Magazine', the staff magazine of Bank Line Limited, published in Feb. 1980 a 3 page article about 'The Rose Line Limited' written by R. T. Lambert (pages 1, 2 & 3). The article refers to the fact that Rose Line owned all of the bonded warehouses in Sunderland for then nearly 70 years. The author commented that a staff member of Bank Line who had dinner in a London hotel may well have drunk wines and sprits that had passed through the Rose Line bonded warehouses. And, should such staff member have chosen to eat lobster, it too may have come from Wylam wharf, where one of the warehouses contained large tanks containing live lobsters prior to being dispatched to hotels in the U.K. and to the Continent. The two companies, Bank Line & Rose Line, had in 1980 been associated for 45 years, Rose Line being the long term Sunderland agents for Bank Line. You might say there was an amazing continuity in the management of Rose Line! The initial partners were Thomas Rose himself, Norman R. Rose (Thomas Rose's son) & R. T. Lambert. Thomas was in the business until he died on May 12, 1949 as Chairman of the Board. (Some newspaper cuttings re his funeral.) Norman Rose, then with 56 years of service, took over as Chairman and Managing Director. R. T. Lambert, an original (1913) partner in the Rose Line shipping business, commenced employment with the company in 1925 & retired from it on Dec. 31, 1977 after over 50 years of service. D. J. Dorward, a Director and also Transport & Wharf Manager then had had 49 years of service. Ian A. Adamson was a relative newcomer when he joined the Board in 1979! Having had just 15 years of service. It was not only the management that had continuity. Many of the ship's captains clearly had lengthy service with the company. Captains George Russell & George Porter were two such captain who had many years of service. The corporate history? The data available to the webmaster is really quite fragmentary. Can you add to the history, perhaps? Initially Thomas Rose ('Rose1') was in business in his own name. The business would seem have become 'Thomas Rose & Co.' likely a limited company, yet ships would seem to have been still owned over the years in the name of Rose1. 'Wear Steam Shipping Company Limited' ('Wear1') came along in 1905.  In 1913, Rose1 formed 'The Rose Line Ltd.' & it then owned Thomas Rose & Co. & Wylam Wharf. Durham Steamship Company Ltd. also came along in 1913. Wear1 likely went into bankruptcy or dissolution (can anybody confirm that?) in or prior to 1917 when 'Wear Steam Shipping Company (1917) Ltd. ('Wear2) was formed. Wear2 survived until 1931. In passing, 'British Coasters' of 1924 lists Rose1 & Wear2 as both being of 38 West Sunniside, Sunderland, which address was the company's registered office. Deeside Shipping Co., related in a way I do not know, would seem to have been a later company perhaps dating from 1946 thru 1959. There clearly were other companies less directly related to ship owning. 'Wearside Carrier Services Ltd.' as an example, had, I read, a fleet of 'platform lorries' & also 'two bulk powder tankers'. Some interesting details about individual vessels in the Thomas Rose fleet:- 1) Re Sunniside, 447 tons, built in 1905 by Goole Shipbuilding Company Ltd. of Goole. In Thomas Rose's own words, written about 1940. 'In 1905 I formed the Wear Steam Shipping Company Limited and built the s.s. Sunniside about 500 tons cargo. She was built by the Goole Shipbuilding Company, Ld., and for near ten years ran regularly between Goole and Lowestoft with coals for the British Gas Company. I have known her do three trips a week from Monday to Saturday and arrive back ready to load her fourth cargo on the Monday morning. She was sold to Messrs. Vandenberg during the first world war. She was torpedoed in Yarmouth Roads and there was loss of life.' 2) Re Arnside, 532 tons, built in 1912 by the Sunderland yard of John Crown & Sons Limited. In Thomas Rose's own words, as above. 'In 1912 I built the Arnside about 520 cargo, a very nice ship which came to an untimely end. She was coming from Liverpool to King's Lynn with a cargo of fertilisers and, when off the Cornish coast, she ran into a severe gale and was lost with all hands. A small boat was washed ashore at Senan Cove but was swamped nearing the shore and three bodies were afterwards found. The boat washed up was found to have the name Arnside.' Re the same matter, Miramar indicate a little differently 'foundered off Aire Point, Land's End 10.2.14 (all 12*) [Birkenhead-Boston, bagged manure] i.e. foundered on Feb. 10, 1914 with the loss of all 12 lives, while en route from Birkenhead to Boston, U.S.A. An Australian Arnside newspaper cutting is here. 3) Also, earlier re Arnside, on Apl. 12, 1913, the vessel saved the entire crew of Frost, in the North Sea, as you can read below. 4) Re Arkleside, 648 tons, built in 1914 by A. Hall & Co., of Aberdeen  .... he (Captain George Russell) took over the Arkleside, new in 1914, and on the declaration of war was ordered up to Scapa Flow where his ship was taken over as a transport. During the next 22 months the Arkleside carried cargoes of high explosives to Havre, Dunkirk, & Calais, and after surviving 320 air attacks remained as one of the three survivors from a fleet of 13 ships engaged on this "suicide" run. Perhaps her "gun" was Arkleside's lucky mascot. It was a pit-prop mounted aft to deceive the enemy. On it was painted "Thou shalt not kill!" An Arkleside newspaper cutting is here. 5) Re Cairnside, 559 tons, built in 1921 by A. Hall & Co., of Aberdeen. In Thomas Rose's own words:- 'I built the Cairnside No. 3. also at Aberdeen but she was also lost, coming from Granville to Hull. My Superintendent Engineer said he was not surprised at her loss as it was her 13th. voyage. She carried 13 men and it was a Friday.' The wreck took place off the island of Herm, W. of Sark, Channel Islands, on Jan. 14, 1922. The ship hit a rock. Captain C. Arundell was in command. All 13 of the crew survived - they could not, in the sea conditions, make Sark in their small boat. They landed at the Chouet on the north side of Guernsey. A Cairnside newspaper cutting is here. 6) Re Edenside, 366 tons, built in 1921 by J. & D. Morris, Pelaw Main Yard, Newcastle. On Jan. 3, 1922, Edenside, a new ship just over six months old, left the Tyne under the command of Captain John Olsen, with a crew of 8 & with an unspecified cargo. Her normal speed was 8 or 8 1/2 knots. The ship encountered appalling weather, hurricane force winds & mountainous seas & she ended up taking 44 hours to make Bridlington Bay, a distance of just 75 miles - a journey that would normally have taken the ship 7 or 8 hours. A big-time ordeal for the Captain & crew! Some newspaper cuttings re the voyage are here. The Captain & crew were honoured by the Mayor of Sunderland at a formal ceremony, held in the Mayor's Parlour on Apl. 30, 1922. On the same day that Edenside had left the Tyne, Elleray, 1201 tons, (ship not related to Thomas Rose in any way) had left Hartlepool for London with a cargo of coal. She was never heard from again - lost with her entire crew. I presume that she ran into the very same storm that hit Edenside. Some 'Rose Line' related images:- The following image is believed to be of the launch party at the launch of a 'Thomas Rose' ship. For a long time I have wondered which ship was being launched & have invited help in the matter. But now we have the answer thanks to James Smith, Thomas Rose's GGG grandson. James tells us the vessel being launched was Brookside and that the launch was on Sep. 23, 1922. It must have been at Goole where Brookside was built. It seems that that is Thomas Rose himself, prominent in the middle of the image. The young girl in the image, just to right of centre? Simon Flack advises, (thanks Simon!), after a family discussion, that the little girl is in fact Doris Rose, Thomas's daughter. But .... a message has now been received from Chris Smith, Thomas Rose's great grandson, who rather indicates that it is the lady holding the bottle (at left in the image) that is Doris Rose. Chris further advises that Doris Rose upon marriage became Doris Shepherd, & that her daughter Kathleen Doris Shepherd later became Kathleen Doris Smith. Chris adds that he is not aware of the identity of the young girl just to right of centre in the image.  I do hope that I have correctly reflected, in the text above, the comments of each of Simon Flack, James Smith & Chris Smith - certainly I have tried to do so. The text is easily amended if necessary. Simon Flack has been in touch again, in Aug. 2019. As follows:- 'Hi, Just read the article on The Rose Line, We think your correction is correct and that the lady on the left is Doris Rose. We also think that the man on the right in the trilby hat is Norman Rose. Thomas's son, the grand father of my wife Carrie Flack'. Thanks again, Simon. And next, a modest but interesting image of Thomas Rose. Can anybody tell us what the instrument is into which he is speaking - related to early wireless perhaps? John Liddle has come to the rescue! He tells us it is an 'Ediphone' - an early wax cylinder voice recorder - marketed by Thomas A. Edison Company in competition to 'Dictaphone', the product of Columbia Phonograph Company & others. Marketed from late 1917. John kindly provided an image of an 'Ediphone' but you can find many images of such machines here. And here is a composite image of a 1920s 'Ediphone' machine. John, we thank you! A 'THOMAS ROSE' / 'THOMAS ROSE' & CO.' & successor companies fleet list In date of build order. 1) VESSELS BUILT AT SUNDERLAND # Name Built Gross Built by Years in fleet Disposition 1 T. G. Hutton 1891 703 Short Brothers Ltd. 1918/1919 Sold in 1919 to A. J. Ashwin of London. Wrecked in 1930. 2 Braeside 1909 406 John Crown & Sons Ltd. 1905/1915 Sold in 1915 to Harris Bros. of Falmouth 3 Cairnside 1909 403 John Crown & Sons Ltd. 1905/1912 Sold in 1912 to Okhotsk-Kamchatka Fishing & Shipping Co. of Vladivostok, Russia 4 Arnside 1912 533 John Crown & Sons Ltd. 1909/1914 Vessel foundered off Aire Point, Lands End, on Feb. 10, 1914 on passage from Birkenhead to Boston, U.S.A. 5 Arkleside 1924 1567 Osbourne, Graham & Co. 1924/1927 Sold in Dec. 1927 to Waldos Shipping Co. Ltd. of London. Sunk in Sep. 1939 2) VESSELS NOT BUILT AT SUNDERLAND # Name Built Gross Built by Years in fleet Disposition 1 Ravenscraig 1899 350 Dundee Shipbuilders of Dundee 1917/1926 Sold in 1926 to Derwent Steam Shipping Co. Ltd. (Anthony & Bainbridge, managers.) 2 Rosyth 1903 376 Dundee Shipbuilders of Dundee 1917/1919 Sold in 1919 to Dundee, Perth & London Shipping Co. Ltd. of Dundee 3 Earl of Durham Ex Stock Force 1905 583 Williamson of Workington 1914/1915 Sold in 1915 to Care & Eidman Ltd. of Cardiff 4 Sunniside 1905 447 Goole Shipbuilding Company Ltd. of Goole 1905/1916 Sold in 1916 to Tower Steam Shipping Co. Ltd. 5 Edenside Ex Cardiff City 1909 322 J. Fullerton of Paisley 1914/1916 Sold in 1917 to Kynoch-Arklow Ltd. of Dublin 6 Daleside Ex Archvale Ex Burlington Combe Ex Wheatvale Ex Bellavale 1910 448 Mackie & Thomson, of  Shipbuilding Yard, Govan, Glasgow 1952/1956 On Nov. 20, 1956, the vessel was sold & broken up at Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, The Netherlands 7 Deneside 1910 329 J. T. Eltringham & Co. of South Shields 1910/1922 Sold in 1917 to Deneside Steam Shipping Co. Ltd. 8 Cairnside 1913 560 A. Hall & Co. of Aberdeen 1913/1919 Wrecked at Shipwash Sands on Jun. 17, 1919 9 Arkleside 1914 648 A. Hall & Co. of Aberdeen 1914/1922 Sold in 1922 to Tyne-Tees Steam Shipping Co. 10 Rhenass 1914 285 Maryport Ship Building Co. of Maryport, Cumbria 1914/1916 On May 22, 1916, en route from Jarrow to Calais with a cargo of pig iron, the vessel was sunk by a mine from German submarine UC-10, 9 miles off Orford Ness, Aldeburgh. 6 lives were lost. 11 Silverburn 1914 284 Maryport Ship Building and Repair Co. of Maryport, Cumbria 1914/1917 On Jun. 13, 1917, en route from Sunderland to Peterhead with a cargo of coal, the vessel was sunk by gunfire from German submarine UB-41, 4 miles SE of Cove Bay, Aberdeen. No loss of life. 12 Braeside 1915 569 J. Fullerton of Paisley 1915/1917 The vessel went missing - it passed the Downs on Dec. 5, 1917 en route from Blyth to Jersey, with coal. 13 Deedon Ex Magrix 1916 314 Cochrane & Sons, of Selby, North Yorkshire 1946/1955 The vessel was sold in 1955 to Bremner & Co., of Kirkwall, & renamed Orkney Dawn. 14 Earl of Durham Ex Jolly Christine Ex Tina 1918 313 Baanhoek Sliedrecht N.V., of Sliedrecht, The Netherlands 1925/1928 Sold in 1928 to T. G. Wilton, of London. Wrecked in Jan. 1937 15 Daleside Ex River Tyne 1920 489 John Lewis & Sons Ltd., of Aberdeen 1922/1924 Sold on Nov. 11, 1924 to East Coast Transport Co. of Newcastle. 16 Sunniside 1920 739 Forth Shipbuilding & Engineering Co Ltd, of Alloa, Firth of Forth 1920/1926 Sold in Dec. 1926 to Sea Transport Co. of Guernsey, & renamed Beauport. 17 Brookside Ex Cliffside Ex Isabeletta 1921 419 J. Crichton, of Saltney, Cheshire 1946/1954 In May 1954 was broken up either at Gateshead or in Holland. 18 Cairnside 1921 559 A. Hall & Co. of Aberdeen 1921/1922 On Jan. 14, 1922 the vessel struck a rock & was wrecked off the island of Herm, W. of Sark, Channel Islands. All 13 crew survived - their small boat landed at the Chouet, Guernsey. 19 Deeness Ex Beeston 1921 466 Cochrane & Sons, of Selby, North Yorkshire 1946/1951 On Feb. 16, 1951, the vessel, en route from St. Peter Port to London, in high winds was wrecked on Vauxville beach near Cherbourg, France. At 49.38.20N/1.51.20W. Tugs were requested but the weather did not permit them to assist. No loss of life. Peter Gill advises us that the crew walked ashore! As per his guestbook message. 20 Edenside 1 1921 366 J. & D. Morris, Pelaw Main Yard, Newcastle 1921/1958 Sold in 1958 & scrapped at Rotterdam on Apl. 8, 1958. 21 Fernside 1921 269 R. B. Harrison & Sons Ltd., of Newcastle 1921/1942 On Feb. 26, 1942 the vessel left Hartlepool & went missing. Believed to have been sunk by an air attack. 22 Glenside 1 Note Ex Briar Ex Royal Firth, later Helgebo, Carlo D., Patimax 1921 411 Brown's Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., of Hull 1944/1952 In 1952, the vessel was sold to V. Sorensen & Co. of Copenhagen, Denmark, & renamed Helgebo. Survived until c.1909 23 Moorside 1921 270 R. B. Harrison & Sons Ltd., of Newcastle 1921/1926 Sold in 1926 to Robert Rix & Sons of Hull & renamed Pegrix. 24 Wearside 1921 420 J. Crichton, of Connah's Quay, Flintshire, N. Wales 1921/1930 Sold in 1930 to A. Chester of Middlesburgh, & renamed Moorlands. 25 Brookside, later Welsh Rose, Sussex Birch, Holdernile 1922 581 Goole Shipbuilding & Repairing Company Ltd. of Goole 1922/1929 On Aug. 13, 1928 was sold to R. Hughes & Co. of Liverpool, & renamed Welsh Rose. 26 Deedale Ex Coquetdale Ex Kildrummy 1924 629 Hall Russell. of Aberdeen 1951/1959 On Jul. 20, 1959, the vessel was scrapped at Delfzijl, The Netherlands. 27 Deeside Ex Glenapp Castle Ex Red Sea Ex Gem 1924 640 Scott & Sons Bowling Ltd., of Bowling, West Dunbartonshire, Scotland 1958/1959 In Nov. 1959, the vessel was scrapped at Nieuwe Lekkerkerk, South Holland 28 Glenside Ex Cornel 1938 353 E. J. Smit & Zoon Scheepswerven BV, of Westerbroek, The Netherlands 1957/1965 On Apl. 6, 1965, the vessel was sold to G. & M. Amiridakis of Greece, & renamed Michael A. 29 Edenside Ex Empire Firth Ex Annick 1941 315 Richard Ironworks Ltd., of Lowestoft 1958/1968 Sold in 1968 to North East by East Shipping Co. Ltd. of Sunderland & soon N. Jadavji & S. G. Hirji of Mombasa, Kenya. 'ROBERT H. GAYNER' of Sunderland Clive Ketley advises me that Robert H. Gayner was a Justice of the Peace, and Chairman of the 'Sunderland and South Shields Water Co.'. He was a 'River Wear Commissioner' & on the 'Pilotage Board'. I do not have dates for the above however. Clive also refers to there being references to G. H. Gayner, maybe related, in trade directories, from 1867 to 1925. In 1867 at 68 Nile Street, in 1878 at 2 East Sunniside & in 1918 at Maritime Buildings on St. Thomas Street. A fleet list is below. That is about all that I know about 'Gayner'. The WWW references to 'Gayner' are essentially non-existent. Maybe you might add to the knowledge? A 'GAYNER' FLEET LIST A list of fleet vessels. While I have tried to make it both complete & accurate, errors can easily 'creep in' when you access multiple sources for data. Corrections (or additions) are invited. Please note, however, that Robert H. Gayner might best be described as the managing owner. He did own 100% of a number of the vessels listed below, (Warden Law built 1862, Derwent built 1868, & Northernhay built 1885). But he seems not to have owned 100% of the others. Vessel ownership was in 1/64th shares. So re Avon, built 1859, as an example, he owned 48/64 of the vessel with the balance, of 16/64, being owned by H. F. Fisher, an investor in the ownership of that particular ship. And so on through the other ships named. 1) VESSELS BUILT AT SUNDERLAND   # Name Built Gross Built by Years in fleet Disposition 1 Derwent, ON 20147 1857 258 W. R. Abbay & Co. 1857/1867 Collided & sank 1867 2 Avon 1859 263 Robert Pace, or maybe John Blumer 1859/1873 Sold to J. Dobson of Blyth 3 Warden Law 1862 347 J. Haswell 1862/1870 Abandoned 1870 4 Wye 1863 348 John Blumer 1863/1864 Transferred to London 5 Hubert 1864 325 John Thompson 1862/1872 Sold 1872 6 Lasborough 1866 965 Iliff & Mounsey 1866/1868 Went missing 1868 7 Severn 1867 398 Jacky Crown 1867/1881 Collided with Mayumba off Madiera & sank 1881 8 Derwent 1868 394 J. Crown 1868/1883 Transferred to Grimsby 9 Larkspur 1868 417 James Laing 1868/1883 Lost 1883 10 Humbledon 1870 433 J. Gill 1870/1873 Lost 1873 11 Offerton 1870 538 J. Gill 1870/1884 Sold 12 Warden Law 1871 477 J. Gill 1871/1883 Transferred to Grimsby 13 Beech Holm 1876 808 James Laing 1876/1898 Sold to Italian owners 14 Foxglove 1878 840 James Laing 1878/1883 Transferred to Liverpool 15 Amity 1880 1165 Robert Thompson 1880/1883 Sunk by India 16 Westward Ho 1884 1241 James Laing 1885/1900 Sold to E. Holtzapfel of Hamburg, Germany 17 Northernhay 1885 1269 James Laing 1885/1909 Sold to Italian owners 18 Wychwood 1889 1272 James Laing 1889/1911 Sold in 1911 19 Windrush 1891 1532 Robert Thompson 1891/1912 Sold to Canadian owners 2) VESSELS NOT BUILT AT SUNDERLAND # Name Built Gross Built by Years in fleet Disposition 1 Anna Catherine 1841 255   1854/1855 Lost 2 Foxglove 1868 485 Rearden or Reardon of Stockton 1868/1872 Sold May I suggest that you navigate the site via the index on page 001.PRIOR PAGE / NEXT PAGE To Thomas M. M. Hemy Data Page 41. All of the other Thomas Hemy pages, including image pages, are accessible though the index on Thomas Hemy page 05.  [ ] £ To the Special Pages Index. A SITE SEARCH FACILITY Search This Site for Get a Free Search Engine for Your Web Site THE GUEST BOOK - GO HERE E-MAIL THIS LINK Enter recipient's e-mail: