Evan Thomas, Radcliffe and Company was one of the more prosperous and better-known of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...

-based shipowning companies, established in 1882 by a

Ceredigion Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. C ...

sea captain, Evan Thomas, and a

Merthyr Tydfil Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Ty ...

businessman, Henry Radcliffe. Until 1939 one of the main trades of the company was to carry

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

steam coal, which reached its peak in the years immediately before

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. The company was ceased trading in the 1980s.

History

Origins

In 1881, Evan Thomas, a

Master Mariner A master mariner is a licensed mariner who holds the highest grade of seafarer qualification; namely, an unlimited master's license. Such a license is labelled ''unlimited'' because it has no limits on the tonnage, power, or geographic location o ...

from

Aberporth Aberporth is a seaside village, community and electoral ward in Ceredigion, Wales. The population at the 2001 Census, was 2,485, of whom 49 per cent could speak the Welsh language. At the 2011 Census, the population of the community was 2,374 ...

in Ceredigion who had served with Jones Bros. of

Newport Newport most commonly refers to: *Newport, Wales *Newport, Rhode Island, US Newport or New Port may also refer to: Places Asia *Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay Europe Ireland *Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...

an JH Anning of Cardiff, went into partnership with Henry Radcliffe, a Merthyr Tydfil businessman and they bought their first ship together. The combination of master mariner and businessman as partners was not uncommon at this time in Cardiff. It was not hard for the partners to raise money to buy their first ship, with most of the capital being raised in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. The partners risked very little of their own money, instead buying the ship on mortgage. The capital being raised as shares in a single ship company.

Evan Thomas

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Evan Thomas was a

master mariner A master mariner is a licensed mariner who holds the highest grade of seafarer qualification; namely, an unlimited master's license. Such a license is labelled ''unlimited'' because it has no limits on the tonnage, power, or geographic location o ...

from the

West Wales West Wales ( cy, Gorllewin Cymru) is not clearly defined as a particular region of Wales. Some definitions of West Wales include only Pembrokeshire, Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire, which historically comprised the Welsh principality of '' Deheu ...

village of Aberporth in Ceredigion. His family lived at ''Dolwen'', a substantial house overlooking the beach. Dol-wen

He was the son of Hezekiah Thomas (1805–1869) who owned a 47-ton

ketch A ketch is a two- masted sailboat whose mainmast is taller than the mizzen mast (or aft-mast), and whose mizzen mast is stepped forward of the rudder post. The mizzen mast stepped forward of the rudder post is what distinguishes the ketch fro ...

, Pheasant, and part-owner of a number of other vessels. From Aberporth coal and limestone was imported by coastal vessels from South Pembrokeshire and

Cardigan Bay Cardigan Bay ( cy, Bae Ceredigion) is a large inlet of the Irish Sea, indenting the west coast of Wales between Bardsey Island, Gwynedd in the north, and Strumble Head, Pembrokeshire at its southern end. It is the largest bay in Wales. Geo ...

. Evan Thomas's brother, Thomas Thomas (1836–1911) was a part-time sailor, part-time farmer, and became secretary of the Aberporth Mutual Ship Insurance Society. Capt. Evan Thomas obtained his master's certificate and after eight years as Master in Steam in the

tramps A tramp is a long-term homeless person who travels from place to place as a vagrant, traditionally walking all year round. Etymology Tramp is derived from a Middle English verb meaning to "walk with heavy footsteps" (''cf.'' modern English ''tr ...

of the

Baltic Baltic may refer to: Peoples and languages *Baltic languages, a subfamily of Indo-European languages, including Lithuanian, Latvian and extinct Old Prussian *Balts (or Baltic peoples), ethnic groups speaking the Baltic languages and/or originatin ...

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 th ...

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, ...

, and United States of America proposed the setting up of a new ship-owning company in Cardiff, the booming coal metropolis. Evan Thomas commanded ''Gwenllian Thomas'', the first ship bought by Evan Thomas, Radcliffe. By 1884 Evan Thomas gave up the sea, and on his death at the age of 59 on 14 November 1891 the company he had established less than ten years previously owned 15 tramp steamships. Evan Thomas had a son and four daughters.

Henry Radcliffe

Henry Radcliffe (1857–1921) was a businessman from Merthyr Tydfil, an important Welsh industrial town. On the death of Evan Thomas in 1891, Henry Radcliffe took into partnership his younger brother Daniel. Henry Radcliffe died in 1921 at the age of 66 at his home in Druidstone,

St Mellons St Mellons ( cy, Llaneirwg) is a district and suburb of southeastern Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Prior to 1996 St Mellons was the name given to the community largely north of Newport Road (B4487) which included the old St Mellons village ...

. He left a son, Wyndham Ivor Radcliffe and two daughters, Clarissa Gwendoline Gwynne Maitland and Sarah Ethel Radcliffe. He was an extensive owned of land in the

Vale of Glamorgan The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...

and held shares in a large number of companies in South Wales including the Taff Vale Railway, Barry Railway Co., Vale of Glamorgan Railway Co., Tempus Shipping Co., Cardiff Port Iron & Coal Storage Co., North's Navigation Collieries Ltd., Great Western Colliery Co. Ltd., P. & A. Campbell Ltd., Cambrian Railways, Alexandra Docks Newport and Guest Keen & Nettlefolds. On the death of Henry Radcliffe, chairmanship of the company passed on to his younger brother Daniel.

Daniel Radcliffe

Daniel Radcliffe of Tal-y-werydd,

Penylan Penylan is a district and community in the east of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales, known for its Edwardian era period houses and spacious tree lined roads and avenues. Situated to both the north and south of the A48 dual carriageway, it i ...

, Cardiff, joined the company at the age of 24 in 1892 having previously worked for Cardiff shipowners JH Anning and the Turnbull Brothers. On joining the company he promoted rapid growth with the result that in 1900 the business owned a total of 24 ships. Daniel Radcliffe died on 29 March 1933.

Early years

Joseph Witham - SS 'Anne Thomas' of Cardiff ACNMW ACNMW DI007129

As Evan Thomas, Radcliffe's business succeeded, more and more ships were added to the fleet. As many as 31 single-ship companies were registered in the company's name. ''Gwenllian Thomas'' went to sea under the command of Evan Thomas, his partner taking charge of the office at 4 Dock Chambers and all the chartering arrangements. In 1882, a second ship, ''Iolo Morganwg'' (1,292 tons) was bought from

Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Palmers Shipbuilding and Iron Company Limited, often referred to simply as "Palmers", was a British shipbuilding company. The Company was based in Jarrow, County Durham, in north-eastern England, and also had operations in Hebburn and Willin ...

Jarrow Jarrow ( or ) is a town in South Tyneside in the county of Tyne and Wear, England. It is east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is situated on the south bank of the River Tyne, about from the east coast. It is home to the southern portal of the ...

who has already built ''Gwenllian Thomas''. In 1883 came ''Kate Thomas'' (1,588 tons) and ''Anne Thomas'' (1,419 tons) followed by ''Wynnstay'' (1,542 tons) in 1884. Around this time Evan Thomas gave up the sea.

The Black Sea trade

All the Evan Thomas, Radcliffe ships were tramp steamers, sailing not along fixed routes but to whatever port in the world the charterers wished. Nevertheless, from 1882 when the company was established until about 1914 there was a pattern of trading with the ships taking out cargoes of coal from the Tyne ports and South Wales to west European or Mediterranean ports, then proceeding in ballast to the Black Sea, to such ports as

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrat ...

, Taranrog and

Novorossisk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...

, returning to British, but more likely a continental port, with grain. This became so much the normal pattern of trading that the annual reports of the company constantly refer to the Black Sea traffic. This pattern of trading was repeated for almost all the Evan Thomas, Radcliffe ships with little variation until 1912–13 when there was a decline in the trade. Gradually the Black Sea trade declined and Evan Thomas, Radcliffe, in common with other Cardiff shipowners, had to look elsewhere for their trade. The Black Sea trade in its heyday was a very lucrative business and the carriage of coal from South Wales outwards and grain from southern Russia inwards really provided the basis of success for Evan Thomas, Radcliffe. Ships rarely sailed in ballast except for short voyages from the points of discharge of coal to the Black Sea and from continental ports to Cardiff or

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

. The Black Sea trade did continue until the early years of the First World War, but some of the ships were making more frequent appearances in America and south east Asia. For example, ''Washington'', from its construction in 1907 until December 1912, was concerned exclusively with the carriage of coal from South Wales to the Mediterranean and the carriage of grain from the Black Sea ports to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...

and

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

. In December 1912 she sailed from

with a cargo of coal from

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

. She then returned from

Bahía Blanca Bahía Blanca (; English: White Bay) is a city in the southwest of the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, by the Atlantic Ocean, and is the seat of government of the Bahía Blanca Partido. It had 301,572 inhabitants according to the . It is the ...

to London with grain and left on another voyage from

to Rio de Janeiro returning to Rotterdam with general cargo from

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Taranto Taranto (, also ; ; nap, label=Tarantino dialect, Tarantino, Tarde; Latin: Tarentum; Old Italian: ''Tarento''; Ancient Greek: Τάρᾱς) is a coastal city in Apulia, Southern Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Taranto, serving as an ...

for

Pondicherry Pondicherry (), now known as Puducherry ( French: Pondichéry ʊdʊˈtʃɛɹi(listen), on-dicherry, is the capital and the most populous city of the Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the sout ...

, returning with a cargo of ground nuts for Marseille. She then sailed across the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

grain trade The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike othe ...

from 1907 to 1912; she then crossed the

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 to Hamburg with grain. After six more voyages to the Black Sea the ship visited

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 Gal ...

La Plata La Plata () is the capital city of Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. According to the , it has a population of 654,324 and its metropolitan area, the Greater La Plata, has 787,294 inhabitants. It is located 9 kilometers (6 miles) inland from ...

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the Capital city, capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata ...

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 ...

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most po ...

San Nicholas ''San Nicolás'' was an 80-gun third-rate ship of the line of the Spanish Navy. She was present at the Battle of Cape St Vincent on 14 February 1797, when she was boarded by a number of British sailors from led by Horatio Nelson. They succes ...

and Aguilas being concerned with the transport of grain and iron ore, to

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated pop ...

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

and

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 E ...

. Gradually, the trans-Atlantic trade was becoming more and more important in the activities of Cardiff shipowners.

First World War

At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, Evan Thomas, Radcliffe was the largest of the Cardiff shipowners owning a fleet of 28 ships. In the war the company lost 20 ships.

Post-war depression

Although substantial sums of money were received in compensation for the ships lost in the war, Evan Thomas, Radcliffe, unlike some other Cardiff shipowning companies, did not immediately enter the post-war market for very expensive ships. In 1919, the company owned only nine ships, with a total gross tonnage of 41,254. The company bought only one ship, ''Ethel Radcliffe'', in 1920 as a replacement for the 20 ships lost in the war. As a result the company was well able to weather the storm of the slump in the 1920s. The one new ship, ''Ethel Radcliffe'', of 5,673 gross tons was built for the company by Craig Taylor & Co. of Stockton-on-Tees at a very inflated price of £274,019. She sailed on her maiden voyage under the command of Captain M Mathias of Cardigan with a cargo of coal for

Port Said Port Said ( ar, بورسعيد, Būrsaʿīd, ; grc, Πηλούσιον, Pēlousion) is a city that lies in northeast Egypt extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, north of the Suez Canal. With an approximate population of ...

. She then sailed in ballast to

Mauritius Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...

returning to London with a cargo of sugar, then to Norfolk, Virginia in ballast to return to Immingham with a cargo of coal. In 1919 and 1920 many of Evan Thomas, Radcliffe's ships were time chartered to other companies, but 1921 saw the slump really biting with the result that many of the company's ships were laid up for extended periods because no cargoes were available for them. Despite this, some of the Evan Thomas, Radcliffe ships were fully occupied in the first few years of the 1920s, although substantial losses were made on many of the voyages. Despite the fact that some of the ships were in constant employ in the early twenties, the golden era was obviously over and the annual reports of the various single ship companies that made up Evan Thomas, Radcliffe & Company reflect the general gloom and depression that seemed to have prevailed among the Cardiff shipowners in the early twenties. In anticipation of those better times, Evan Thomas, Radcliffe began to invest money in new ships in 1925. The new ships were considerably cheaper than ''Ethel Radcliffe'' of 1920, built when the prices of new and old ships were very inflated. Nevertheless, in the 1920s substantial losses were made in the trading of all the ships. The Great Depression that started in 1929 caused a worldwide slump in merchant shipping. After a few years trade began to recover, and the company invested in two new ships from

Bartram & Sons Bartram & Sons was a shipbuilder on Wearside, North East England, that specialised in building cargo ships. It was founded in 1837, taken over in 1968, nationalised in 1977 and closed in 1978. Early decades George Bartram and John Lister founde ...

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

: the

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They often share a ...

s launched in 1936 and ''Llandaff'' launched in 1937. Unusually for steamships built in the 1930s ''Llanashe'' and ''Llandaff'' each had a

compound engine A compound engine is an engine that has more than one stage for recovering energy from the same working fluid, with the exhaust from the first stage passing through the second stage, and in some cases then on to another subsequent stage or even s ...

Triple-expansion engines A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

had largely superseded compound engines in the 1860s. But in ''Llanashe'' and ''Llandaff'' the compound engine was combined with a exhaust

steam turbine A steam turbine is a machine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work on a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Charles Parsons in 1884. Fabrication of a modern steam turb ...

to achieve a third stage of steam expansion and hence economy in

bunkering Bunkering is the supplying of fuel for use by ships (such fuel is referred to as bunker), including the logistics of loading and distributing the fuel among available shipboard tanks. A person dealing in trade of bunker (fuel) is called a bunk ...

Second World War

Evan Thomas, Radcliffe lost 11 ships in the Second World War. *28 June 1940 – '' Llanarth'' – torpedoed off

Lands End Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...

on voyage from Melbourne with flour. *11 August 1940 – '' Llanfair'' – torpedoed on a voyage from Mackay and Bowen (

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

) to UK with sugar . *23 August 1940 – ''

Llanishen Llanishen (Welsh Llanisien ''llan'' church + ''Isien'' Saint Isan) is a district and community in the north of Cardiff, Wales. Its population as of the 2011 census was 17,417. Llanishen is the home of the former HMRC tax offices, the talle ...

'' – sunk by air attack southeast of Wick on voyage from Three Rivers (

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Government of Canada, Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is ...

) to

Leith Leith (; gd, Lìte) is a port area in the north of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith. In 2021, it was ranked by ''Time Out'' as one of the top five neighbourhoods to live in the world. The earliest ...

with maize. *26 February 1941 – ''

Llanwern Llanwern is a community in the eastern part of the City of Newport, South East Wales. Llanwern is bounded by the M4 and Langstone to the north, Ringland, Lliswerry and the River Usk to the west, the River Severn to the south and the city bou ...

'' – bombed by aircraft off southwest coast of Ireland. on voyage from Sorel (

) with grain and timber for Avonmouth. *17 April 1941 – '' Ethel Radcliffe'' – torpedoed by an

E-boat E-boat was the Western Allies' designation for the fast attack craft (German: ''Schnellboot'', or ''S-Boot'', meaning "fast boat") of the Kriegsmarine during World War II; ''E-boat'' could refer to a patrol craft from an armed motorboat to a la ...

off the East Anglian coast on a voyage from

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 K ...

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of ...

with maize. Beached on Yarmouth sands, but bombed and made total loss on 14 May 1941. *12 May 1942 – ''

Llanover Llanover (; cy, Llanofer) is a village in the community of Goetre Fawr in Monmouthshire, Wales. Location Llanover is located four miles south of Abergavenny just off the A4042 road to Pontypool. The community includes the separate hamlets ...

'' – torpedoed in North Atlantic on voyage from New York and

Halifax Halifax commonly refers to: *Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada * Halifax, West Yorkshire, England *Halifax (bank), a British bank Halifax may also refer to: Places Australia *Halifax, Queensland, a coastal town in the Shire of Hinchinbrook *Halifax ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

for London with wheat, apples and tanks. *2 November 1942 – ''

Llandilo Llandilo is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia 54 kilometres north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Penrith. It is part of the Greater Western Sydney ...

'' – torpedoed south of

Saint Helena Saint Helena () is a British overseas territory located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island west of the coast of south-western Africa, and east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three consti ...

on voyage from New York. . *17 February 1943 – '' Llanashe'' – torpedoed off

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, S ...

on voyage from New York. *18 March 1943 – '' Clarissa Radcliffe'' – torpedoed with loss of all hands, on voyage from

Pepel Pepel is a coastal town in the Port Loko District in the Northern Province of Sierra Leone. Port Pepel has a port in the Sierra Leone River used for shipping bulk iron ore via the mining company African Minerals. Railway Pepel is connec ...

with iron ore. *30 May 1943 – ''

Llancarfan Llancarfan is a rural village and community in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. The village, located west of Barry and near Cowbridge, has a well-known parish church, the site of Saint Cadoc's 6th-century clas, famed for its learning. Cainnech of ...

'' – sunk by air attack south of

Cape St. Vincent Cape St. Vincent ( pt, Cabo de São Vicente, ) is a headland in the municipality of Vila do Bispo, in the Algarve, southern Portugal. It is the southwesternmost point of Portugal and of mainland Europe. History Cape St. Vincent was already sac ...

while on a voyage from

to Lisbon and

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

with coal and coke. *30 March 1944 – '' Vera Radcliffe'' – handed over to the

Ministry of War Transport The Ministry of War Transport (MoWT) was a department of the British Government formed early in the Second World War to control transportation policy and resources. It was formed by merging the Ministry of Shipping and the Ministry of Transpor ...

(MoWT) for use as a blockship on

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

beaches.
This left the company with a greatly depleted fleet, for only five ships survived the war. They were ''Llanberis'', ''Llangollen'', ''Peterston'', ''Flimston'' and ''Llandaff''. UK ships were lost much faster than they could be replaced and the Government decided that it would be impossible to back a new shipbuilding programme entirely in this country which was so vulnerable to enemy attack. Therefore a British Merchant Shipbuilding Mission left for the USA in September 1940 and the terms of its brief was to endeavour to obtain at the earliest possible moment the delivery of merchant tonnage...of vessels of the tramp type of about 10,000 tons deadweight. Canadian shipyards built 198

Fort ship The Fort ships were a class of 198 cargo ships built in Canada during World War II for use by the United Kingdom under the Lend-Lease scheme. They all had names prefixed with "Fort" when built. The ships were in service between 1942 and 1985, ...

s and US shipyards supplied

Ocean The ocean (also the sea or the world ocean) is the body of salt water that covers approximately 70.8% of the surface of Earth and contains 97% of Earth's water. An ocean can also refer to any of the large bodies of water into which the wo ...

and

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. Though British in concept, the design was adopted by the United States for its simple, low-cost constr ...

s. Evan Thomas, Radcliffe obtained six of these ships together with ''Samskern'', a ship lent to the MoWT under the Lease-Lend system at a charter rate of a dollar a year. With the great depletion in the fleet as a result of war, the company was forced to look elsewhere for extra tonnage. It bought US and Canadian standard ships of the Fort type.

Latter years

The period after 1945 was a period of reconstruction and rebuilding, but Evan Thomas, Radcliffe, in common with all other South Wales shipowners, never repeated the prosperity of the beriod before the First World War. Cardiff saw a gradual decline in the fortunes of its docks as coal exports diminished. Cardiff was, above all, a coal exporting port and it was on this that its fortunes had been built. Many of the Cardiff tramp steamers were concerned in the coal trade and the ships owned by Evan Thomas, Radcliffe were mainly designed for transporting coal. The company had to look elsewhere for its freight and with the change of ownership to the Evans and Reid group, as a fully integrated company within the group after some years in partnership with Evans and Reid, the Radcliffe fleet became mainly an oil tanker fleet. In 1946 the company had only five ships of its own: ''Llanberis'' (built 1928); ''Llangollen'' (built 1928); ''Peterston'' (built 1925); ''Flimston'' (built 1925) and ''Llandaff'' (built 1937). It was operating another eight standard ships on behalf of the Ministry of Transport or on charter. The pattern of trading had changed considerably. The tankers mainly carried oil from the Persian Gulf, Sumatra and elsewhere to European ports, but the other steamers – ''Llanover'' and ''Llanwern'' were concerned with worldwide tramping, rarely visiting their home port of Cardiff. In 1950 and 1951 too, the pre-war ships ''Llandaff'' and ''Llangollen'' were sold which left the company with only one ship, the tanker ''Llanishen'' of 1945 with a new motor ship, ''Llantrisant'', a freighter of 6,140 tons being built by Bartram's. She was launched on 27 March 1952 and delivered to her owners on 5 September 1952. She was in the fleet for five years as a worldwide tramp. In 1957 she was sold to a

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company as ''Lake Burnaby''. In the early 1950s the company had few ships, so a number were chartered. After the delivery of ''Llantrisant'' in 1952, another new ship, the oil tanker ''Llandaff'' was built by

Lithgows Lithgows Limited is a family-owned Scottish company that had a long involvement in shipbuilding, based in Kingston, Port Glasgow, on the River Clyde in Scotland. It has a continued involvement in marine resources. History Founding The Company w ...

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. She remain in the fleet until 1960, for much of the time being chartered to Anglo-Saxon Petroleum. but on 16 February 1960 she was sold to the Island Shipping Company of

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. In 1957 Bartram's delivered a new motor ship, the freighter ''Llantrisant''. The next year

Swan Hunter Swan Hunter, formerly known as Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson, is a shipbuilding design, engineering, and management company, based in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. At its apex, the company represented the combined forces of three pow ...

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delivered the oil tanker ''Llanishen''. In 1960 the tanker ''Hamilton'', built at

Tamise Temse (; french: Tamise ) is a municipality in East Flanders, Belgium. The name Temse is derived from the Gallo-Roman/Gaul Tamisiacum or Tamasiacum. This is also reflected in the French name for the town, Tamise. The main sights include the C ...

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, was delivered on time charter and the

Furness Shipbuilding Company The Furness Shipbuilding Company was a shipbuilding company in Haverton Hill, Stockton on Tees, England. It was established during the First World War and operated from 1917 until 1979. Establishment The yard was initially established as an ...

of Haverton Hill delivered the tanker ''Llangorse''. In October 1962 Bartrams delivered the freighter ''Llanwern''. In 1964–5 therefore, the Evan Thomas, Radcliffe fleet comprised five ships. By 1970 ''Llanwern'' and ''Llantrisant'' had been sold and in 1971 SA Boelwerf of Tamise, Belgium delivered ''Stolt Llandaff'', the last ship to be built for the company. She was a specialised oil and chemical tanker and remained as an Evan Thomas, Radcliffe ship on charter to the company from the Stolt Corporation of

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until December 1981. With the sale of ''Hamilton'', ''Llangorse'' and ''Llanishen'', ''Stolt Llandaff'' remained the sole ship in the fleet until 1980 when two small coastal ships, ''Radcliffe Trader'' and ''Radcliffe Venturer'', were bought.

Fleet

Notable captains

* Capt. J. Alexander of Cardiff * Capt. W. R. Burgess of Cardiff * Capt. G. Clark of

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymout ...

* Capt. D. J. Davies of

Aberarth Aberarth is a village in Ceredigion, Wales, in the community of Dyffryn Arth, on the southern end of Cardigan Bay between Aberystwyth and Cardigan at the mouth of the River Arth on the A487 road. The Wales Coast Path passes through the village. ...

* Capt. J. Davies of Aberporth * Capt. J. A. Davies of Cardigan * Capt. E. H. Dolton of

Brixham Brixham is a coastal town and civil parish, the smallest and southernmost of the three main population centres (the others being Paignton and Torquay) on the coast of Torbay in the county of Devon, in the south-west of England. Commercial fish ...

* Capt. J. James of Aberporth * Capt. J. R. Jenkins of Aberporth * Capt. E. Jones of Llanarth * Capt. J. Jones of

* Capt. John Jones of Rhoshirwaun * Capt. J. W. Jones of

St Dogmaels St Dogmaels ( cy, Llandudoch) is a village, parish and community in Pembrokeshire, Wales, on the estuary of the River Teifi, a mile downstream from the town of Cardigan in neighbouring Ceredigion. A little to the north of the village, fu ...

* Capt. T. Jones of Blaenporth * Capt. M. Mathias of Cardigan * Capt. S. H. Mathias of Newport, Pembrokeshire * Capt. B. T. Morris – Marine Superintendent for Evan Thomas Radcliffe * Capt. J. E. Owen of Swansea * Capt. T. Owens of

Llangrannog Llangrannog (sometimes spelt as Llangranog) is both a village and a community in Ceredigion, Wales, southwest of New Quay. It lies in the narrow valley of the River Hawen, which falls as a waterfall near the middle of the village. Llangrann ...

* Capt. R. Rees of St Dogmaels * Capt. R. Roberts of Holyhead * Capt. D. Smith of Lewis * Capt. J. Thomas of Cardiff * Capt. J. E. Thomas of

Newcastle Emlyn Newcastle Emlyn ( cy, Castellnewydd Emlyn) is a town on the River Teifi, straddling the counties of Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in West Wales. It is also a community entirely within Carmarthenshire, bordered by those of Llangeler and Cenart ...

* Capt. W. Thomas of Llaniestyn * Capt. D. Williams of

Machynlleth Machynlleth () is a market town, community and electoral ward in Powys, Wales and within the historic boundaries of Montgomeryshire. It is in the Dyfi Valley at the intersection of the A487 and the A489 roads. At the 2001 Census it had a pop ...

* Capt. John Williams of Cardiff * Capt. T. Wood of Cardiff The Evan Thomas Radcliffe brand was sold to the Evan Reid Group of Cardiff.

References

Bibliography

* Jenkins, David, ''Cardiff tramps, Cardi crews'', Journal of the Cardiganshire Antiquarian Society, Vol. 10, nos. 1–4 – 1984–1987, * Jenkins, J. Geraint, ''Evan Thomas Radcliffe : a Cardiff Shipowning Company'',

National Museum of Wales National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, Cardiff, 1982, {{ISBN, 978-0-7200-0247-8 Defunct shipping companies of the United Kingdom Shipping companies of Wales Companies based in Cardiff