The Clan Line was a passenger and cargo shipping company that operated in one incarnation or another from the late nineteenth century and into the twentieth century.
History
Foundation and early years
The company that would become the Clan Line was first founded as C. W. Cayzer & Company in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...
in 1877 by
Charles Cayzer (see
Cayzer baronets). It was set up to operate passenger routes between
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
and
Bombay
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
via the
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...
. The next year, Captain William Irvine joined the company and it was renamed Cayzer, Irvine & Company.
In 1881 the company was joined by an influential
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
businessman and his firm of
Thomas Dunlop & Sons, and the Clan Line Association of Steamers was established. The company opened a new head office at 109 Hope Street, Glasgow. Cayzer, Irvine built and managed ships for the association and Cayzer himself retained ownership of the original six Clan ships. At the same time, they expanded their operations to
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
. In 1890 the company became The Clan Line of Steamers Limited with Cayzer holding the majority interest. The company again expanded its operations with the purchase of the Persian Gulf Steam Ship Company in 1894, bringing four more ships into the company. They used these new assets to expand their routes into the
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, sometimes called the Arabian Gulf, is a Mediterranean seas, mediterranean sea in West Asia. The body of water is an extension of the Arabian Sea and the larger Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.Un ...
and to
North America
North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...
, and to begin to carry cargo.
The company was incorporated in 1907 as Cayzer, Irvine & Company, Limited, with the Cayzer family retaining control. Charles Cayzer died in 1916, with his sons continuing to run the company. In 1918 they acquired and incorporated the assets of the Scottish Shire Line. Despite suffering losses in the
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the company had recovered by the 1930s to become the largest cargo carrying concern in the world.
The Clan Line at war and after
Clan Line saw a large number of its ships either requisitioned by the British government, or otherwise used to ship vital supplies to Britain during the
First and
Second World War
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
s. Their ubiquitousness led to them being called the 'Scots Navy' (due to their officers' sleeve rings being identical to those of the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
) and they were often in dangerous environments, at risk from
mines, air attacks or German
U-boat
U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...
s.
During the Second World War, for example, three of the Line's
Cameron class steamers were requisitioned in 1942 by the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...
whilst still under construction at
Greenock Dockyard and commissioned as (aircraft transporter), (aircraft transporter) and (submarine depot ship for
X-craft
The X class was a World War II midget submarine class built for the Royal Navy during 1943–44. It was substantially larger than the original Chariot manned torpedo.
Known individually as X-Craft, the vessels were designed to be towed to the ...
). The Clan Line lost a total of 30 ships in the 1939-45 war.
After the end of the war, the Clan Line commissioned six vessels of the ''Clan MacLaren'' class (commonly known as the ''MacL's'') to replace war losses and resume a level of pre-war services. Construction started in 1946 and all six had entered service by 1949. Meanwhile, the immediate shortage was alleviated by the acquisition of a number of wartime standard construction ships, such as the American
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were a ship class, class of cargo ship built in the United States during World War II under the Emergency Shipbuilding Program. Although British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost cons ...
s. Most of these would continue to serve with the Clan Line fleet until 1962, by which time the first vessels of the ''Clan MacIver'' class were entering service. Meanwhile, management attempted to further alleviate the shortfall with the purchase of the Thompson Steam Shipping Co. in 1952 and the conversion to motor ships throughout the 1950s.
Post war restructuring
In 1956, under the impetus of
Nicholas Cayzer the Clan Line joined with the
Union-Castle Line, King Line and Bullard King & Company to form
British & Commonwealth Shipping Limited. A number of transfers then took place between the component companies. They formed the Springbok Shipping Company in 1959 to take over the operations of their South African services, and several of the Clan Lines' ships were transferred to it. In 1961 the Springbok Shipping Company became part of
Safmarine.
Decline
In the 1970s, British and Commonwealth began to diversify into financial services as passenger shipping declined and cargo shipping evolved into container shipping. By the mid-1980s, the business had evolved into one of the country's largest financial services companies. The Clan Line, now a subsidiary of British & Commonwealth, ceased trading in 1981 with the final voyage made by ''MV Clan Macgregor''. By 1986 British & Commonwealth had disposed of their last ship.
With the move from the third to the fourth generation of the Cayzer family, the family shareholders were becoming increasingly uncomfortable with the reduction in control over British and Commonwealth, caused by its expansion using shares as currency. In 1987 they decided to sell their stake in British and Commonwealth and to concentrate their collective investment in
Caledonia Investments, whose function until that time had primarily been as a holding company. This was a timely decision: the sale took place just prior to the
Black Monday stock market crash and, two years later, British and Commonwealth went into receivership.
Shipping
The ships of the Clan Line were usually distinguishable by their names, the vast majority of which had the prefix 'Clan'. Their
funnel
A funnel is a tube or pipe that is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, used for guiding liquid or powder into a small opening.
Funnels are usually made of stainless steel, aluminium, glass, or plastic. The material used in its constructi ...
markings were black with two red bands divided by narrow black band, and they flew the house flag, which was a rectangular red flag bearing a white diamond with a red rampant
lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...
in the centre.
Ships of the Clan Line
Legacy

It was one of the shipping companies commemorated by the
Merchant Navy class of
Southern Railway locomotives.
Locomotive number 35028 built in 1948 carries the name "Clan Line" and is currently maintained in fully operational condition for hauling excursion trains on the UK's national railway system.
House flags
House flag of Cayzer Irvine and Co Ltd, Glasgow and London (Clan Line).svg, House flag
A maritime flag, also called a naval flag, is a flag designated for use on ships, boats, and other watercraft. Naval flags are considered important at sea and the rules and regulations for the flying of flags are strictly enforced. The flag flown ...
until the 1910s.
House flag of the Clan Line.svg, House flag used from 1910s to the end of the company's existence.
Commodore's Flag of Clan Line.svg, Commodore's flag used to distinguish the Flagship.
House flag of Clan Sutherland.png, Flag of ''Clan Sutherland'' (1951), preserved in Royal Museums Greenwich.
Clan Line company used on its ships a general flag with a red lion on a white rhombus on a red background and second flag with a rhombus and lion on
tartan
Tartan or plaid ( ) is a patterned cloth consisting of crossing horizontal and vertical bands in multiple colours, forming repeating symmetrical patterns known as ''setts''. Originating in woven wool, tartan is most strongly associated wi ...
belonging to the clan after which the ship was named. Tartan flags were used until the mid-1960s and were flown at the
bow.
See also
*
Loch Line
*
Caledonia Investments
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
External links
*
Caledonia Investments– company homepage
* – JP Morgan & London Business School case study
*
{{Authority control
Defunct shipping companies of the United Kingdom
Merchant ships of the United Kingdom
Passenger ships of the United Kingdom
1877 establishments in England
Companies based in Liverpool
Companies based in Glasgow
1956 disestablishments in Scotland
Transport companies established in 1877
Transport companies disestablished in 1956