Manchester Liners was a cargo and passenger shipping company founded in 1898, based in
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
, England. The line pioneered the regular passage of ocean-going ships along the
Manchester Ship Canal
The Manchester Ship Canal is a inland waterway in the North West of England linking Manchester to the Irish Sea. Starting at the Mersey Estuary at Eastham, near Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, it generally follows the original routes of the river ...
. Its main sphere of operation was the transatlantic shipping trade, but the company also operated services to the
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
. All of the line's ships were registered in the Port of Manchester, and many were lost to enemy action during the First and Second World Wars.
A successful switch from traditional to
container ship
A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...
ping in 1968 was relatively short-lived, as the subsequent introduction elsewhere of much larger container ships meant that the company's ships, which were restricted to a maximum length of imposed by the ship canal's lock chambers, could no longer compete economically. The line ceased operations in 1985.
Early history
The opening of the Manchester Ship Canal in 1894 made it possible for large ocean-going ships to sail directly into the heart of
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
. However, because of opposition from
cartel
A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collude with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. Cartels are usually associations in the same sphere of business, and thus an alliance of rivals. Mos ...
s of ship-owners based at
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...
and other ports in the United Kingdom, shipping lines were slow to introduce direct services to the new
Port of Manchester
The Port of Manchester was a port in Salford, North West England, until its closure in 1982. It was created as a customs port on 1 January 1894, four months before the official opening of the Manchester Ship Canal. It extended along the whole l ...
, which found it difficult to compete against the established ports. New trading routes from Manchester to
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
and
Mediterranean
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the e ...
ports were countered by the established shipping conferences sharply reducing their own charges and by inducing their customers to sign binding contracts. In some cases, after achieving their aims, the cartels re-imposed their old charges. To help counter these "sharp practices",
Sir Christopher Furness, of Furness Withy & Company, proposed in 1897 that a Manchester-based shipping line should be formed to encourage the use of the Manchester Ship Canal and docks. The public prospectus for Manchester Liners Ltd (ML) was issued on 10 May 1898, with an authorised share capital of £1 million. Furness' company became the largest shareholder, and he was appointed chairman. Other directors included representatives from the Ship Canal company and
Salford Borough Council.
Robert Burdon Stoker
Robert Burdon Stoker (19 June 1859 – 4 September 1919) was a British shipping magnate and Conservative politician.
Shipping career
Stoker was born in north-east England and educated at Liverpool College.''Who Was Who'', Published by A&C Blac ...
, a director of Furness Withy, was appointed as ML's first managing director.
Initial operations 1898–1914
![Manchester Engineer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Manchester_Engineer.jpg)
Manchester Liners decided from the outset to make Manchester–Canada their prime route, with a secondary route to the southern United States
cotton
Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus ''Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure cellulose, and can contain minor perce ...
ports of
and
Galveston
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
. Other lesser, sometimes seasonal routes, were added later.
Two 1890-built 3,000 gross registered ton (grt) ships were bought for £60,000 in May 1898, and renamed ''Manchester Enterprise'' and ''Manchester Trader''. The ''Trader'' made the shipping line's first voyage, setting out from
Avonmouth
Avonmouth is a port and outer suburb of Bristol, England, facing two rivers: the reinforced north bank of the final stage of the Avon which rises at sources in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset; and the eastern shore of the Severn Estuar ...
for
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
on 26 May, before docking in Manchester with a cargo of grain.
The two secondhand ships were joined in January 1899 by the newly built ''Manchester City'' of 7,696 grt, constructed by
Raylton Dixon & Co of
Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough ( ) is a town on the southern bank of the River Tees in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the North York Moors national park. It is the namesake and main town of its local borough council area.
Until the early 1800s, the a ...
. This
steamship
A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...
carried of coal, burned at per day, giving a speed of , fast for her day. She was a refrigerated ship, designed to carry frozen meat and live cattle, and was claimed to be one of the largest meat-carrying ships then afloat. She made a successful maiden voyage from Canada and up the new canal to Manchester, which she took two days to negotiate after stopping overnight at
Irlam
Irlam is a suburb in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, it had a population of 19,933. It lies on flat ground on the south side of the M62 motorway and the north bank of the Manchester Ship Canal, southwest of Salford ...
to give the crew a rest. The ''
Manchester Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' reported on 16 January 1899 that "there were many shakings of the head, not only in Liverpool, at the audacity of the attempt" and that "the canal pilots, on reaching Irlam, looked as if they had not been in bed for a week, as their eyes were bleared with exhaustion". The ''City'' discharged 450 cattle and 150 sheep at
Manchester Corporation
Manchester City Council is the local authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester is the sixth largest city in England by population. Its city council is composed of 96 councillors, three f ...
's Foreign Animals Wharf near the Mode Wheel locks in
Salford
Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...
. With an overall length of , she was by far the largest ship to have ventured up the waterway, and her successful navigation disproved the claim of Liverpool owners that only ships of or less could safely reach Manchester. The ship continued to Manchester docks for further unloading, where she was met by the Lord Mayor, accompanied by a band and a festive crowd. This successful voyage did much to encourage other shipowners to use the new port. On her first voyage to
Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...
, in March 1899, the ''City'' took nine days and sixteen hours; and arrived before the
mail boat
Mail boats or postal boats are a boat or ship used for the delivery of mail and sometimes transportation of goods, people and vehicles in communities where bodies of water commonly separate or separated settlements, towns or cities often where b ...
, which had left the
Mersey
The River Mersey () is in North West England. Its name derives from Old English and means "boundary river", possibly referring to its having been a border between the ancient kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria. For centuries it has formed part ...
twelve hours ahead of her.
The ML fleet was joined by two new smaller 5,600 grt ships, the ''Manchester Port'' and ''Manchester Merchant'' during 1899 and 1900, and further new ships followed quickly thereafter. The basic sailing pattern to Canada was
Saint John, New Brunswick
Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...
, year-round and to
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
when the
St Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence River (french: Fleuve Saint-Laurent, ) is a large river in the middle latitudes of North America. Its headwaters begin flowing from Lake Ontario in a (roughly) northeasterly direction, into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, connecting ...
was ice-free.
Between 1899 and 1902, four Manchester ships and their crews were requisitioned by the United Kingdom government to transport troops, horses, and supplies to South Africa during the
Boer War
The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...
and its aftermath. Collecting points for horses and mules included
Galveston
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
and
(USA) and
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...
and
Montevideo
Montevideo () is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...
in South America. ''Manchester Port'' made its second voyage to the Cape in 1900, then continued to Australia to bring troops to the conflict. On the first voyage after her return to ML, in January 1903, the first ''Manchester Merchant'' was lost while on passage from New Orleans to Manchester. A serious fire developed in her cotton cargo, and she was scuttled in
Dingle Bay
Dingle Bay (''Bá an Daingin'' in Irish) is a bay located in County Kerry, western Ireland. The outer parts of the Dingle Peninsula and Dingle Bay mark one of the westernmost points of mainland Ireland. The harbour town of Dingle lies on the n ...
on the west coast of Ireland to douse the flames, but subsequently broke up in bad weather.
By 1904 the line was operating fourteen steamships of between four and seven thousand tons, several built by the associated
Furness Withy
Furness Withy was a major British transport business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange.
History
The company was founded by Christopher Furness and Henry Withy (1852–1922) in 1891 in Hartlepool. This was achieved by the amalgamatio ...
shipyards
A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance a ...
. Services to ports in eastern Canada were supplemented by regular sailings to
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
,
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, and the southern US cotton ports of New Orleans and Galveston. Between 1904 and 1908 ML deployed three ships including the ''Manchester City'' to the
River Plate route, serving other UK ports as well Manchester. The main return cargo was frozen and chilled meat, and the ''City'' set a record for the largest meat consignment up to that time. Lord Furness, as he had become, died in 1912 and was succeeded as ML's chairman by R. B. Stoker until his death in 1919. ML's fleet was maintained at 14 ships during the last few years before the First World War. Eleven of their ships were deployed on the Canadian routes, carrying mainly manufactured goods outwards and meat and grain inbound.
Operations during the First World War
At the start of the war in July 1914, ML had a fleet of fifteen ships. Most of the fleet continued to operate services to ports in eastern Canada and to USA including
Baltimore
Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
, returning with war and other supplies. In August 1914, the ''Manchester Miller'' (1903) and ''Manchester Civilian'' (1913) were requisitioned as supply ships and sent with coal to the
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouzet ...
to refuel the
battlecruiser
The battlecruiser (also written as battle cruiser or battle-cruiser) was a type of capital ship of the first half of the 20th century. These were similar in displacement, armament and cost to battleships, but differed in form and balance of attr ...
s HMS ''Inflexible'' and HMS ''Invincible''. As the ''Civilian'' was coaling the cruisers, the German ships approached and the British warships cast off immediately to engage them. In the
battle
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...
that ensued
Admiral Von Spee
Maximilian Johannes Maria Hubert Reichsgraf von Spee (22 June 1861 – 8 December 1914) was a naval officer of the German ''Kaiserliche Marine'' (Imperial Navy), who commanded the East Asia Squadron during World War I. Spee entered the navy in ...
's
armored cruisers
The armored cruiser was a type of warship of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It was designed like other types of cruisers to operate as a long-range, independent warship, capable of defeating any ship apart from a battleship and fast eno ...
,
''Scharnhorst'' and
''Gneisenau'', plus escorting cruisers were sunk. The ''Civilian'' was later equipped with
minesweeping
Minesweeping is the practice of the removal of explosive naval mines, usually by a specially designed ship called a minesweeper using various measures to either capture or detonate the mines, but sometimes also with an aircraft made for that ...
gear. She returned in 1916 carrying supplies and equipment from Canada to the troops in France.
All ships were fitted with defensive guns at the bow and stern. In June 1917 ''Manchester Port'' (1904) beat off a submarine attack with gunfire near
Cape Wrath
Cape Wrath ( gd, Am Parbh, known as ' in Lewis) is a cape in the Durness parish of the county of Sutherland in the Highlands of Scotland. It is the most north-westerly point in mainland Britain.
The cape is separated from the rest of the mai ...
. ''Manchester Commerce'' (1899), outward-bound for
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
was sunk off northwest Ireland on 26 October 1914, with the loss of 14 crew, becoming the first merchant ship to be sunk by a mine. On 4 June 1917 the second ''Manchester Trader'', en route from
Souda Bay
Souda Bay is a bay and natural harbour near the town of Souda on the northwest coast of the Greece, Greek island of Crete. The bay is about 15 km long and only two to four km wide, and a deep natural harbour. It is formed between the Akr ...
in Crete to
Algiers
Algiers ( ; ar, الجزائر, al-Jazāʾir; ber, Dzayer, script=Latn; french: Alger, ) is the capital and largest city of Algeria. The city's population at the 2008 Census was 2,988,145Census 14 April 2008: Office National des Statistiques ...
, fought a running battle with
U-boat
U-boats were naval submarines operated by Germany, particularly in the First and Second World Wars. Although at times they were efficient fleet weapons against enemy naval warships, they were most effectively used in an economic warfare role ...
before she was captured and sunk near
Pantellaria
Pantelleria (; Sicilian: ''Pantiddirìa'', Maltese: ''Pantellerija'' or ''Qawsra''), the ancient Cossyra or Cossura, is an Italian island and comune in the Strait of Sicily in the Mediterranean Sea, southwest of Sicily and east of the Tunisi ...
island, with the loss of one crewmember. The master, Captain F.D. Struss, was awarded the
Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries.
*Distinguished Service Cross (Australia)
*Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom)
*Distinguished Service Cross (U ...
, and went on to complete 40 years service with the line after surviving another sinking in the Second World War. A further nine ships were sunk by U-boats, seven of the losses occurring in 1917.
ML acquired seven ships between 1916 and 1918, four of which were sunk in 1917. ''Manchester Engineer'', acquired secondhand in 1917, had a short but eventful career with ML. On 18 June, when bound for
Archangel
Archangels () are the second lowest rank of angel in the hierarchy of angels. The word ''archangel'' itself is usually associated with the Abrahamic religions, but beings that are very similar to archangels are found in a number of other relig ...
, she was chased by a U-boat but escaped when her naval escort arrived. On 16 August when sailing from the Tyne to
St Nazaire
Saint-Nazaire (; ; Gallo: ''Saint-Nazère/Saint-Nazaer'') is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France, in traditional Brittany.
The town has a major harbour on the right bank of the Loire estuary, near the Atlantic Ocean. T ...
with coal, she was torpedoed five miles off
Flamborough Head
Flamborough Head () is a promontory, long on the Yorkshire coast of England, between the Filey and Bridlington bays of the North Sea. It is a chalk headland, with sheer white cliffs. The cliff top has two standing lighthouse towers, the olde ...
and sunk. ''Manchester Division'' achieved fame on her maiden voyage from West Hartlepool to join a westbound Atlantic convoy at Plymouth when she rammed and sank a German submarine off
Flamborough Head
Flamborough Head () is a promontory, long on the Yorkshire coast of England, between the Filey and Bridlington bays of the North Sea. It is a chalk headland, with sheer white cliffs. The cliff top has two standing lighthouse towers, the olde ...
in October 1918. At the end of the war in November 1918, ML had twelve surviving ships on strength.
Peacetime operations 1919–39
![ManchesterPort](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/67/ManchesterPort.jpg)
In 1921–22, ML's fleet was augmented by two second-hand ships. Sailings were resumed to New Orleans, and the Baltimore service was extended to
Norfolk, Virginia
Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...
. Some ships including the ''Manchester Civilian'' and ''Manchester Spinner'' became regular carriers in the coal trade from
Sydney, Nova Scotia
Sydney is a former city and urban community on the east coast of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada within the Cape Breton Regional Municipality. Sydney was founded in 1785 by the British, was incorporated as a city in 1904, and dissolv ...
. The ''Civilian'' made several round trips from the US to Japan in 1923, carrying relief supplies after the
Japanese earthquake. ML took delivery of the 7,930 tons steam turbine ''Manchester Regiment'' in 1922, constructed on the Tees by the Furness Shipbuilding Company. This ship with a crew of 65 was the largest operated to date, carrying 512 cattle, plus hold cargo and was equipped with large
derrick
A derrick is a lifting device composed at minimum of one guyed mast, as in a gin pole, which may be articulated over a load by adjusting its guys. Most derricks have at least two components, either a guyed mast or self-supporting tower, and a ...
s to assist in heavy goods handling. The ''Regiment's'' record from the Mersey Bar to Quebec was seven days nine hours. In 1925 her captain won the gold-headed cane traditionally awarded each Spring to the master of the first ship to break through the
St Lawrence
Saint Lawrence or Laurence ( la, Laurentius, lit. " laurelled"; 31 December AD 225 – 10 August 258) was one of the seven deacons of the city of Rome under Pope Sixtus II who were martyred in the persecution of the Christians that the Roman ...
ice to reach Montreal, a feat repeated later by several other ML captains. ML's old head office in
Deansgate
Deansgate is a main road (part of the A56) through Manchester City Centre, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile ...
, Manchester became inadequate and was replaced in August 1922 by a purpose-built five-storey modern building in St Ann's Square next to the
Royal Exchange.
The line acquired two new ships in 1925, but later that year its fortunes were adversely affected by competition from subsidised American firms on the North Atlantic routes; ML disposed of seven ships between late 1925 and 1930, reducing its fleet to ten ships. The ''Regiment'' steamed 160 miles through a gale in 1929 to reach the sinking Glasgow steamer ''Volumnia''. A
lifeboat
Lifeboat may refer to:
Rescue vessels
* Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape
* Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues
* Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen
A ...
was launched to rescue the crew of forty-five. On return home,
King George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936.
Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...
awarded the ''Regiment's'' lifeboat crew the Silver
Medal for Gallantry in Saving Life at Sea and Manchester's Lord Mayor presented a silver salver from the
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a British government body concerned with commerce and industry, currently within the Department for International Trade. Its full title is The Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council appointed for the consideration of ...
to Captain Linton. In 1933, amid the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, several ships were laid up; the ''Manchester Merchant'' of 1904 was disposed of for breaking up and the ''Manchester Civilian'' was sold to Greek owners. The public sailing programme for the 1933 summer season listed six ships as allocated to the weekly "Fast Freight Service" to Quebec and Montreal. The six steamers were advertised as being "fitted with fan or forced ventilation and all have cold storage accommodation". Most ships were also able to carry up to twelve passengers. After a ten-year gap, three new ships were commissioned between 1935 and 1938 as trade started to recover, maintaining the fleet at ten ships. The trio were equipped with automatic stokers for their coal-fired boilers and had greatly improved accommodation for the passengers and the crew.
Operations during the Second World War
ML had ten ships at the start of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, but early in the conflict lost ''Manchester Regiment'' in December 1939, when outbound with general cargo for
Saint John, New Brunswick
Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...
. She was proceeding without lights when she was run down by the
Pacific Steam Navigation's ''Oropesa'', which had been detached from an eastbound convoy. While the ML fleet continued to be deployed on the North Atlantic routes during the war, the company's ships also undertook a wide variety of roles elsewhere during the conflict. ''Manchester City'' became a
minelayer
A minelayer is any warship, submarine or military aircraft deploying explosive mines. Since World War I the term "minelayer" refers specifically to a naval ship used for deploying naval mines. "Mine planting" was the term for installing controll ...
, then a naval auxiliary ship, working in the Far East. ''Manchester Progress'' was one of the last ships to leave
Rangoon
Yangon ( my, ရန်ကုန်; ; ), formerly spelled as Rangoon, is the capital of the Yangon Region and the largest city of Myanmar (also known as Burma). Yangon served as the capital of Myanmar until 2006, when the military government ...
in 1941 before the
Japanese conquest of Burma
The Japanese invasion of Burma was the opening phase of the Burma campaign in the South-East Asian theatre of World War II, which took place over four years from 1942 to 1945. During the first year of the campaign (December 1941 to mid-1942) ...
. ''Manchester Commerce'' (1925) was deployed on Mediterranean
convoy
A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...
s in 1942/43 and next year transported mules from South Africa to India for the
Burma Campaign. ''Manchester Trader'' (1941) was fitted with extra crew quarters for use as a
commodore
Commodore may refer to:
Ranks
* Commodore (rank), a naval rank
** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom
** Commodore (United States)
** Commodore (Canada)
** Commodore (Finland)
** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore''
* Air commodore, a ...
ship on Atlantic convoys. Except for two supply runs to
Bone, Algeria
Annaba ( ar, عنّابة, "Place of the Jujubes"; ber, Aânavaen), formerly known as Bon, Bona and Bône, is a seaport city in the northeastern corner of Algeria, close to the border with Tunisia. Annaba is near the small Seybouse River ...
, she remained in the Atlantic theatre and served ML until 1963. ''Manchester Brigade'', having survived the first World War, was sunk on 26 September 1940 after being torpedoed by when bound for
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...
in convoy off
Malin Head
Malin Head ( ga, Cionn Mhálanna) is the most northerly point of mainland Ireland, located in the townland of Ardmalin on the Inishowen peninsula in County Donegal. The head's northernmost point is called Dunalderagh at latitude 55.38ºN. It is ...
, to the north of Ireland; 58 crew were lost.
''Manchester Merchant'', completed in May 1940, quickly became involved in Operation Fish, transporting Britain's
gold reserves
A gold reserve is the gold held by a national central bank, intended mainly as a guarantee to redeem promises to pay depositors, note holders (e.g. paper money), or trading peers, during the eras of the gold standard, and also as a store of v ...
to Canada, making two voyages with bullion valued in total at £4.5 million. In late 1942 she was deployed on
Operation Torch
Operation Torch (8 November 1942 – Run for Tunis, 16 November 1942) was an Allies of World War II, Allied invasion of French North Africa during the Second World War. Torch was a compromise operation that met the British objective of secu ...
as a supply ship to North Africa. On 25 February 1943, she was torpedoed by "U 628" while part of an outbound Atlantic convoy; 36 of the crew of 65 including gunners were lost, but Captain Struss again survived, and received the
OBE. ''Manchester Division'' (1918) bound for
Table Bay
Table Bay (Afrikaans: ''Tafelbaai'') is a natural bay on the Atlantic Ocean overlooked by Cape Town (founded 1652 by Van Riebeeck) and is at the northern end of the Cape Peninsula, which stretches south to the Cape of Good Hope. It was named ...
was directed to assist the Blue Star Line's ''Dunedin Star'' which had beached on
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
's rugged coast. The ''Division'' stood by in heavy swell for three days, rescuing 40 passengers and crew, before taking them to
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
. ''Manchester Citizen'' (1925) was also sunk by a U-boat, whilst on passage to
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
on 9 July 1943 after surviving several supply runs for the
Eighth Army. The last ships to be "lost", albeit deliberately, was ''Manchester Spinner'' (1918), which had taken military supplies to India in 1942. On 7 June 1944, shortly after
D-Day
The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...
, manned by a volunteer crew, she led a line of
Mulberry Harbour blockship
A blockship is a ship deliberately sunk to prevent a river, channel, or canal from being used. It may either be sunk by a navy defending the waterway to prevent the ingress of attacking enemy forces, as in the case of at Portland Harbour in 1914; ...
s and was sunk off
Juno Beach
Juno or Juno Beach was one of five beaches of the Allied invasion of German-occupied France in the Normandy landings on 6 June 1944 during the Second World War. The beach spanned from Courseulles, a village just east of the British beach Gold ...
Normandy to act as a breakwater, whilst troop reinforcements and stores were landed on the beaches. Her superstructure was then armed with anti-aircraft guns.
Peacetime operations 1945–68
At the war's end, ML had a fleet of eight ships built between 1918 and 1943, and these continued to operate the traditional service to eastern Canada for a further two years before new ships could be acquired. In 1946 the ''Manchester Shipper'' became the first merchant ship to be fitted with
radar
Radar is a detection system that uses radio waves to determine the distance (''ranging''), angle, and radial velocity of objects relative to the site. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, w ...
, and to navigate the St Lawrence with its aid. In the same year the company carried Manchester's Lord Mayor and party to Canada on a goodwill and trade mission. ''Manchester Exporter'' was sold in 1947 and replaced by the newly built larger ''Manchester Regiment''. Two further 7,000 ton ships were commissioned in 1952, which meant that the ''Manchester Division'', veteran of both wars, could be sold for scrapping after a record 35 years service with the line. In 1952, Robert B. Stoker, grandson of the second chairman, became the third generation of his family to be appointed an executive director of ML. He had joined the line in 1932 and in turn became chairman in 1968.
''Manchester Shipper'' was used to transport WWII German aircraft to Canada. It left Ellesmere Port on 23 August 1946 arriving in Montreal 1 September. Its cargo included two Me 262s (WNr500210, WNr111690). ''Manchester Commerce'' also carried Second World War German aircraft to Canada, leaving Seaforth Docks on 26 August and arriving on 9 September with two He 162s (WNr 120076, WNr 120086) and two Me 163s (WNr191454, WNr191914). The ship featured in the 1961 film "
A Taste of Honey
''A Taste of Honey'' is the first play by the British dramatist Shelagh Delaney, written when she was 19. It was intended as a novel, but she turned it into a play because she hoped to revitalise British theatre and address social issues that ...
".
ML contracted
Cammell Laird
Cammell Laird is a British shipbuilding company. It was formed from the merger of Laird Brothers of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co of Sheffield at the turn of the twentieth century. The company also built railway rolling stock until 1929, ...
of
Birkenhead
Birkenhead (; cy, Penbedw) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England; historically, it was part of Cheshire until 1974. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the south bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liver ...
to build two smaller ships of 1,800 tons. Commissioned in 1952, they were named the ''Manchester Pioneer'' and ''Explorer''. They were joined by the secondhand 1,400-ton ''Manchester Prospector''. The trio were the first of a size able to pass through the restricted-size canals and locks leading directly to Toronto and the other
Great Lakes
The Great Lakes, also called the Great Lakes of North America, are a series of large interconnected freshwater lakes in the mid-east region of North America that connect to the Atlantic Ocean via the Saint Lawrence River. There are five lakes ...
ports as far as Detroit, Michigan. This initiative, the first by a British line, and taken well ahead of the 1959 completion of the
Saint Lawrence Seaway
The St. Lawrence Seaway (french: la Voie Maritime du Saint-Laurent) is a system of locks, canals, and channels in Canada and the United States that permits oceangoing vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes of North Americ ...
, gave the line a head start in the direct trade to the
Midwest
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four Census Bureau Region, census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of ...
ports. During the winter months, when thick ice prevented navigation on the lakes, the trio were employed elsewhere, sometimes on charter to other lines.
''Manchester Progress'', 5,620 grt, opened a regular mid-summer service to
Churchill, Manitoba
Churchill is a town in northern Manitoba, Canada, on the west shore of Hudson Bay, roughly from the Manitoba–Nunavut border. It is most famous for the many polar bears that move toward the shore from inland in the autumn, leading to the nickname ...
, on
Hudson Bay
Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...
in 1954, during the short ice-free season, bringing back grain shipped to the port by rail from the
Canadian Prairies
The Canadian Prairies (usually referred to as simply the Prairies in Canada) is a region in Western Canada. It includes the Canadian portion of the Great Plains and the Prairie Provinces, namely Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. These provin ...
. Captain F. Struss, survivor of sinkings in both wars, retired in March 1954 after forty years service, the last ML Commodore who had gained his master's ticket in sail. That same year the Great Lakes service was extended to Chicago, and ML's pre-1914 service to the southern US ports of Charleston, Savannah, and Jacksonville was resumed.
A
USAF
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...
RB-36
The Convair B-36 "Peacemaker" is a strategic bomber that was built by Convair and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1949 to 1959. The B-36 is the largest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft ever built. It had the longest wing ...
"Peacemaker" ten-engined strategic bomber suffered engine fires on 5 August 1954, while en route from
Travis AFB
Travis Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base under the operational control of the Air Mobility Command (AMC), located three miles (5 km) east of the central business district of the city of Fairfield, in Solano County, Californi ...
California to
RAF Lakenheath
Royal Air Force Lakenheath or RAF Lakenheath is a Royal Air Force station near the village of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England, UK, north-east of Mildenhall and west of Thetford. The base also sits close to Brandon.
Despite being an RAF stati ...
Suffolk. The crew of twenty-three were ordered to bail out west of Ireland at 03:40. The ''Manchester Shipper'', inbound from Montreal, and the outbound ''Manchester Pioneer'', diverted to the scene and despite bad weather were able to rescue the four surviving crew. The USAF's HQ Third Air Force sent messages commending the ship masters and crews efforts under adverse circumstances.
ML's first two
motor ship
A motor ship or motor vessel is a ship propelled by an internal combustion engine, usually a diesel engine. The names of motor ships are often prefixed with MS, M/S, MV or M/V.
Engines for motorships were developed during the 1890s, and by t ...
s, with engines and accommodation aft, were commissioned in April 1956. The ''Manchester Vanguard'' and ''Venture'', 1,662 grt, were designed for the Great Lakes service. Two larger motor ships, the ''Manchester Faith'' and ''Fame'', 4,460 grt, were commissioned in April 1959, and the ''Faith'' quickly became the first commercial ship to transit the newly opened St Lawrence Seaway with its larger locks.
Two ML ships were involved in a successful mid-Atlantic rescue of airliner passengers on 23 September 1962. A
Flying Tiger Line
Flying Tiger Line, also known as Flying Tigers, was the first scheduled cargo airline in the United States and a major military charter operator during the Cold War era for both cargo and personnel (the latter with leased aircraft). The airline ...
Lockheed Super Constellation
The Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation is an American aircraft, a member of the Lockheed Constellation aircraft line. The L-1049 was Lockheed's response to the successful Douglas DC-6 airliner, first flying in 1950. The aircraft was also produc ...
was en route from
McGuire AFB
McGuire AFB/McGuire, the common name of the McGuire unit of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, is a United States Air Force base in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, approximately south-southeast of Trenton. McGuire is under the j ...
New Jersey to
Frankfurt Airport
Frankfurt Airport (; german: link=no, Flughafen Frankfurt Main , also known as ''Rhein-Main-Flughafen'') is a major international airport located in Frankfurt, the fifth-largest city of Germany and one of the world's leading financial centres ...
with 76 persons aboard. Two out of four engines failed and the airliner changed course for
Shannon Airport
Shannon Airport ( ga, Aerfort na Sionainne) is an international airport located in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. It is adjacent to the Shannon Estuary and lies halfway between Ennis and Limerick. The airport is the third busiest ai ...
Ireland. After a further hour, a third engine failed and Captain John Murray made a successful ditching in darkness west of Shannon. All occupants evacuated the aircraft before it sank. The larger ''Manchester Progress'' acted as a radio relay ship, while ''Manchester Faith'' picked up 48 survivors. The other 28 persons on board the aircraft were lost when their rafts sank in heavy seas.
Switch to containers 1968–78
![FurnessHouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/FurnessHouse.png)
Manchester Liners House, the company's new headquarters in
Salford Docks, was officially opened on 12 December 1969 by the
High Commissioner for Canada
High may refer to:
Science and technology
* Height
* High (atmospheric), a high-pressure area
* High (computability), a quality of a Turing degree, in computability theory
* High (tectonics), in geology an area where relative tectonic uplift to ...
. The design was advanced for its day and it remains basically unchanged today except for re-glazing. The unusual curved facade of the ten-storey building was designed to echo the bridge shape of the ''Manchester Miller''. Later renamed ''Furness House'', it was built on the former Manchester Ship Canal railway sidings between Nos. 8 and 9 Docks.
By the late 1960s rising shore costs, dock workers strikes, restrictive practices on both sides of the Atlantic, and subsidised competition from American shipping lines, persuaded Manchester Liners to switch its future fleet to
container ships
A container ship (also called boxship or spelled containership) is a cargo ship that carries all of its load in truck-size intermodal containers, in a technique called containerization. Container ships are a common means of commercial intermodal ...
only. An example of the delaying effect of the strikes in the Canadian ports, with consequent impact on operating costs, was an extended ninety-day return voyage to
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
in early 1967 by the new ''Manchester Progress''.
Initially, three new ships were ordered from
Smiths Dock Company
Smith's Dock Company, Limited, often referred to simply as Smith's Dock, was a British shipbuilding company.
History
The company was originally established by Thomas Smith who bought William Rowe's shipyard at St. Peter's in Newcastle upon Tyne ...
in Middlesbrough, the first of which, ''Manchester Challenge'', was delivered in 1968, becoming the first British-built and operated cellular container ship. The ''Challenge'' and her two sisters ''Manchester Courage'' and ''Concorde'' were followed from the Tees in 1971 by the ''Crusade''. UK manufacturers supplied 10,000
containers
A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping.
Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...
. The four ships each had the capacity to carry five hundred containers, all of them below deck. A new regular container route started in November 1968, with a twice-weekly service to Montreal, where the containers were transferred to smaller ships which could navigate to the ports of the Great Lakes. The four new powerful (16,000 hp) ships were built to a standard exceeding
Lloyds class 1 ice-stiffening, with additional aft protection over the rudder to permit reversing through ice.
On her second voyage in early 1969, ''Manchester Challenge'' lived up to her name by entering the heavily iced Montreal harbour, discharging, reloading and departing only two days late. Another thirty-seven conventional ships were stuck at the port for a month. The quartet's ice-breaking capability often resulted them in leading a convoy of other ships into Montreal during the winter months. The four ships of 12,039 gross tons were of the maximum size able to navigate the Manchester Ship Canal.
To obtain the greatest operational efficiency, ML constructed two dedicated container terminals with their own gantry cranes, spreaders etc. The Manchester terminal was built on an open site next to the western end of No. 9 Dock. A second container berth was added in 1972. The other terminal was created at Montreal, with similar equipment, where the containers were trans-shipped to a dedicated liner train operated by
Canadian National Railways
The Canadian National Railway Company (french: Compagnie des chemins de fer nationaux du Canada) is a Canadian Class I railroad, Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern United States, M ...
, which carried them onwards to Toronto and further destinations.
ML inaugurated a container service to the Mediterranean in 1971 using smaller ships. Initial destinations included Malta, Cyprus and Israel. Later in the decade, the countries served were extended to include Italy, Greece, Lebanon and Syria. To further improve service to shippers, two large road hauliers were acquired in 1971 and 1972, enabling a "door-to-door" container operation to be introduced. Facilities for container storage and repair were also acquired. Following its successful pioneering of the UK container trade, ML was given the
Queen's Award for Export
The Queen's Awards for Enterprise is an awards programme for British businesses and other organizations who excel at international trade, innovation, sustainable development or promoting opportunity (through social mobility). They are the highest ...
in 1971, the first to be given to a shipping company; every ship in the fleet flew the award flag.
In 1974 ML carried out of the total of dry cargo handled on the ship canal (27%). During the same year, ML acquired Manchester Dry Docks Ltd, which operated three large and one small dry docks on the canal adjacent to MLs berths in Salford Docks. These facilities assisted greatly in keeping the fleet fully operational. ''Manchester Challenge'' completed her 100th round voyage to Montreal in 1975 having carried 95,000 containers weighing a distance of – the equivalent of a round trip to the moon. During 1976 MLs Manchester to Canada route had three sailings per week.
Decline and closure
Manchester Liners had been partly owned by
Furness Withy
Furness Withy was a major British transport business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange.
History
The company was founded by Christopher Furness and Henry Withy (1852–1922) in 1891 in Hartlepool. This was achieved by the amalgamatio ...
from the beginning, and they became a subsidiary in 1970. Furness Withy was itself taken over in 1980 by the C. Y. Tung Group of Hong Kong. Robert B. Stoker retired in 1979 as Chairman of Manchester Liners after 47 years service with the company.
Severe competition following the building of excess container shipping capacity by many companies badly affected ML's trade and profitability. The company's ships were by then smaller than average in the industry, leading to higher operating costs per unit of cargo carried. Their operations were further severely affected during the mid-1970s by both official and unofficial strikes by dock workers. The service to Canada ended in 1979, and by the early 1980s only five "Manchester" ships remained – the 30,000 ton container ship ''Manchester Challenge'' and four 1,600–4,000 ton ships: ''Manchester Crown'', ''Manchester Trader'', ''Manchester Faith'' and ''Manchester City''. The line had by then ceased using the Port of Manchester, and the four smaller ships were operating to the Mediterranean out of
Ellesmere Port
Ellesmere Port ( ) is a port town in the Cheshire West and Chester borough in Cheshire, England. Ellesmere Port is on the south eastern edge of the Wirral Peninsula, north of Chester, south of Birkenhead, southwest of Runcorn and south of ...
, closer to the sea on the lower reaches of the ship canal.
In 1981, ML jointly with the
Canadian Pacific Steamship Company
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
and the Dart Container Line, instituted a weekly containership service from
Felixstowe
Felixstowe ( ) is a port town in Suffolk, England. The estimated population in 2017 was 24,521. The Port of Felixstowe is the largest container port in the United Kingdom. Felixstowe is approximately 116km (72 miles) northeast of London.
His ...
,
Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
, to Montreal. MLs contribution to the service was the large ''Manchester Challenge''. The last of Manchester Liners' ships was sold in 1985, and in 1988 the services formerly operated by the company were taken over by the
Orient Overseas Container Line
Orient Overseas Container Line, commonly known as OOCL, is a container shipping and logistics service company with headquarters in Hong Kong. The company is incorporated in Hong Kong as Orient Overseas Container Line Limited and separately inc ...
, successor to the Tung Group.
Ship naming policy, house and flag colours
The company's ship-naming policy throughout its 87-year period of operations was to use its home port's name plus a suffix word, often a trade or occupation. The most frequently used name was ''Manchester Trader'', applied to six different ships between 1898 and cessation of operations in 1985. Some names used appropriately during the First World War, such as ''Manchester Hero'', ''Manchester Brigade'' and ''Manchester Division'' were not reused after the disposal or loss of those ships. Some ships operated short-term or on charter retained their original names and did not receive the ''Manchester'' prefix.
From the earliest days, the line's colours were: funnels – dark red with black top and thin black band; hulls – black with white boot topping. During the Second World War, ships were painted in battleship grey and the names were deleted for security, except when in friendly ports. From the 1960s onwards, some ships' hulls were painted light grey and others red.
The line's flag colours were a red oval, placed horizontally, with white "ML" lettering in the centre, imposed on an overall white background.
References
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External links
Manchester Liners Old Shipmates AssociationDocumentary on the history of the ship canal in three parts, including a history of Manchester Liners narrated by R. B. Stoker
{{Good article
Defunct shipping companies of the United Kingdom
Transatlantic shipping companies
History of Manchester