Leyland Line

The Leyland Line was a British shipping transport line founded in 1873 by Frederick Richards Leyland after his apprenticeship in the firm of John Bibby, Sons & Co. After Frederick Leyland's death, the company was taken over by Sir John Ellerman in 1892. In 1902, the company was bought by the International Mercantile Marine Company and a portion of its fleet was withdrawn from service and transferred to the Ellerman Lines. The company was liquidated in 1935 after a period of declining influence due to the Great Depression.

Leyland Line

House flag
Industry	Shipping
Founded	1873
Defunct	1935
Area served	North Atlantic

History

Early history

Frederick Leyland was a longtime partner in John Bibby, Sons & Co which was based in Liverpool. In 1873 the Bibby family withdrew from the shipping business and Leyland set up his own shipping company. As the company was established in 1873, 21 former Bibby ships formed the basic equipment of Leyland's new company of cargo ships. The new company was officially called F. Leyland & Co. Ltd, but the name Leyland Line soon became established. Also inherited from the Bibby Line was the tradition of giving all ships a name ending in "-ian" or "-ean", and the funnel painted pink with a black top.^[1] The shipping company initially operated with a liner service to the Mediterranean, in 1875 the transatlantic service was opened with routes ran from Liverpool to Boston, Philadelphia and Portland. New York City was only occasionally called upon. The ships used by the shipping company were mainly cargo ships, some of which had few passenger facilities that only had transport for emigrants. The liner services developed well and the shipping company became the largest transatlantic freighter line. in 1888, Leyland retired from his active business leaving his son, Frederick Dawson Leyland, in charge of the line.^[2][3]

Under John Ellermann

Painting of the Leyland steamship Oporto

With the death of Frederick Leyland in 1892, John Ellermann, Christopher Furness and Henry Withy took over the Leyland Line.^[3][2] Ellermann became managing director of the company and, in 1893, also took over the chairmanship of Frederick Leyland & Co. In 1896, Leyland set up a passenger service in cooperation with Furness Withy, from Liverpool to New York and the Canadian ports. In 1896, the Wilson Line was added and the joint service was called Wilson, Furness & Leyland Line. The cooperation was limited exclusively to this service. In 1899 Leyland took over the shipping company West India & Pacific Steamship Co. Ltd. and thus opened a liner service to the West Indies (Caribbean)^[2]

Decline and fate

Letter from a passenger on Devonian in 1912

In 1902, the company was bought by the US banker J.P. Morgan and in 1904 the company was under the control of the International Mercantile Marine Company.^[4] Leyland line was given responsibility for the European part of the International Navigation Company but had to discontinue the Mediterranean service. Twenty non-emigration Leyland ships were not included in the sale. Later, John Ellerman acquired the London Papayanni Company to form the shipping company Ellerman Lines emerged shortly afterward, in the same year, a rationalization of services followed and Leyland withdrew their ships from service and transferred to John Ellerman's new company. In 1915 with the bankruptcy of the IMMC, the company looked into an uncertain future for the first time. The First World War, which had meanwhile broken out, also meant numerous ship losses for the shipping company. By the First World War and the 1920s, many ships of the Leyland Line transferred to other companies. With The Great Depression, many more ships were sold to other companies or scrapped and, in 1935, Leyland Line's last ship was sold and the company ceased in the same year.^[2][1]

Ships of the Leyland Line

List of Leyland Line ships with dates of entry to service for the company^[2]

Name	Shipyard	GRT	Launch date	Notes	Image
Belgian	?	1,989	1855	Little is known about her or her career with the line.
Egyptian	Harland & Wolff	2,137	1861	Broken up in 1902.
Persian	Harland & Wolff	2,137	1863	Broken up in 1902.
Arabian	Harland & Wolff	2,137	1866	Broken up in 1902.
Iberian	Harland & Wolff	2,931	1867	Sunk at Cape Clear, 1885
Illyrian	Harland & Wolff	2,931	1867	Wrecked on Cape Clear, 1884
Istrian	Harland & Wolff	2,931	1867	Sold to Furness Withy, 1894
Bavarian	Harland & Wolff	3,113	1869	Sold to J. Glynn & Son, Liverpool, 1892
Bohemian	Harland & Wolff	3,113	1870	Sunk off Ireland, 1891
Bulgarian	Harland & Wolff	3,113	1870	Sunk off Ireland, 1885
Woolton	Oswald, Mordaunt & Co	2,152	2 May 1885	Sailed from Newcastle, New South Wales on 14 June 1893 for Valparaiso, Chile, with a cargo of coal and tallow, and disappeared on the voyage.[5]
Anglian	Alexander Stephen and Sons	5,532	2 May 1885	Sunk by torpedo in the English Channel, 1915.
Bostonian	Harland & Wolff	4,472	1888	Scrapped in 1913.
Georgian	Harland & Wolff	5,088	1890	Sunk by UB-47 in 1917.
Louisianian	Barclay Curle	3,643	1891	Broken up in 1924.
Cornishman	Harland & Wolff	5,749	1891	Scrapped in 1926.
Welshman	Harland & Wolff	5,749	1891	Scrapped in 1929.
Colonian	Harland & Wolff	6,583	1891	Scrapped in 1926.
Victorian	Harland & Wolff	2,152	1895	Sunk by torpedo off Malta, 1916.
Armenian	Harland & Wolff	8,825	25 July 1895	Sunk by torpedo by U-24 on 28 June 1915.
American	Harland & Wolff	8,249	8 August 1895	Scrapped at Genoa in 1932.
Cestrian	Harland & Wolff	8,823	1896	Sunk by torpedo in the Aegean Sea, 1917.
Londonian	Alexander Stephen and Sons	8,823	1896	Capsized and sank, 1898.
European	Harland & Wolff	8,249	9 July 1896	Scrapped at Genoa in 1933.
Asian	Caird & Company	5,613	4 August 1898	Ran aground and broke up.
Antillian	Caird & Company	5,613	20 September 1898	Scrapped in 1930.
Winifredian	Harland & Wolff	10,435	1899	Broken up in Italy, 1929.
Atlantian	Armstrong Whitworth	9,355	1899	Sunk by torpedo off Eagle's Rock, 1918.
Devonian	Harland & Wolff	10,405	1900	Sunk by torpedo in 1917.
Bohemian	Alexander Stephen and Sons	8,548	28 June 1900	Ran aground in 1920.
Iberian	Sir James Laing & Sons	5,223	1900	Sunk by torpedo in 1915.
Canadian	R & W Hawthorn, Leslie & Co Ltd	9,301	1900	Sunk by torpedo in 1917.
Californian	Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company	6,223	26 November 1901	Best known for not coming to the aid of RMS Titanic despite being the closest ship in the area. Sunk by German U-boat, 9 November 1915.
Hanoverian	R & W Hawthorn	13,507	25 February 1902	First sold to the Dominion Line, then sold to the White Star Line, before returning to the Leyland Line as Devonian and being chartered to Red Star Line. Scrapped in 1929.
Scotian	Harland & Wolff	18,084	8 October 1903	Sold in 1907 to Hamburg America Line; renamed President Lincoln; sunk 31 May 1918.
Servian	Harland & Wolff	18,072	19 February 1903	Sold in 1907 to Hamburg America Line; renamed President Grant. Was troop transport in First and Second World Wars. Sold for scrap on 11 March 1952.
Ninian	R & W Hawthorn, Leslie & Co Ltd	6,385	February 1912	Scrapped in 1934.
Norwegian	Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company	6,327	1913	Torpedoed off Ireland in 1917, beached but total loss.
Regina	Harland & Wolff	16,314	19 April 1917	Became troop transport during First World War. Scrapped in 1947.
Pennland	Harland & Wolff	16,322	11 November 1920	Sunk 25 April 1941.
Dakarian	Harland & Wolff	6,426	1921	Sold in 1933, Scrapped in 1958.
Dakotian	Harland & Wolff	6,426	1922	Sold in 1934, Sunk by mine in 1940.
Darian	Harland & Wolff	6,434	1922	Sold in 1934, Sunk by in 1941.
Daytonian	Harland & Wolff	6,434	1922	Sold in 1934, Sunk in 1942.