Glen Line

A cigarette card showing the Glen Line funnel and flag colours

Glen Line was a UK shipping line that was founded in Glasgow in 1867. Its head office was later moved first to London and then to Liverpool.

History

Glen Line building in Shanghai

The firm had its roots in the co-operation between the Gow and McGregor families in Glasgow in the 1850s. Alan C Gow was a voyage broker, James McGregor organised the freight to fill the ships and by 1860 they were in partnership.

In 1867 Alan Gow had the sailing ship Estrella de Chile built to ply the route between Glasgow, Liverpool, and Chile via Cape Horn. She was wrecked in 1888. In 1868 the partners bought the barque Glenavon. She was the first of their ships to have the Glen- prefix in her name.[1][2] In 1881 the firm had the iron-hulled steamship Glenavon built. She was wrecked off the coast of China in 1898, killing 53 people.[3]

In 1911, Elder Dempster and Co acquired The Glen Line but it was sold to Alfred Holt's Blue Funnel line in 1935. By 1978 all Glen Line ships had been sold.

During the First World War Glen Line lost five ships to U-boat attacks, including Glenartney in 1918. The company lost two further ships to U-boat attacks in the Second World War.


References

  1. ↑ "Glen Line". The Red Duster. Merchant Navy Association. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  2. ↑ Meighan, Michael (2013). Scotland's Lost Industries. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. p. 264. ISBN 978-1-4456-2401-3.
  3. ↑ Greenway, Ambrose (2009). Cargo Liners: An Illustrated History. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-84832-129-8.

Further reading

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Glen Line.

Coordinates: 31°14′34″N 121°29′08″E / 31.2428°N 121.4855°E / 31.2428; 121.4855

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.