![[Bolton Steam Shipping Co. houseflag]](../images/g/gb~bolto.gif)
image by James Dignan,
8 October 2003
Last modified: 2021-05-29 by rob raeside
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image by James Dignan,
8 October 2003
Based on an illustration by Sampson (1957)
James Dignan, 8 October 2003
Company based in London, UK. Stewart & Styring
(1963) shows periods following each initial.
Phil Nelson, 9 October 2003
Brown 10: Bolton Steam Shipping Co., Ltd., London
Funnel: Black
Flag: 2:3, Red, in a white diamond throughout in red the text "F.B.", in letters
approximately one-third in height.
James' image is:
Flag: 2:3, Red, in a white diamond throughout in red the letters "FB", in
letters approximately one-third in height. I have the impression several
companies originally used periods to indicate abbreviations, but later improved
the flag image by dropping those. Earlier this year I went looking for
information on this firm, but all I
could gather was that there were already Boltons in shipping in London in the
Napoleonic era; the time frame, and the initials, suggest Fred Bolton; the
company was still active as a liner in 1996.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 20 October 2003
Bolton Steam Shipping Co. Ltd. Sources vary as to whether there were dots after
the letters. According to Talbot-Booth the company originated 1885, apparently
as Frederic [spelling taken from Lloyds 1904] Bolton & Co. trading as Bolton
Steamship Co. Ltd. but Griffin 1895 shows them as Bolton & Kenneth. In 1982 they
were bought by Nosira Shipping (Carnival Cruises Line Group) with Carnival in
turn selling them both in 1987 to the Mountleigh Group. Whilst part of the
Carnival Group it seems that Bolton Maritime Management Ltd. was set up to
manage the fleets of Bolton Steamship and Nosira Shipping but these two seem to
have got out of ship-owning soon after and by 1992 the management company are
noted in Lloyds Shipowners acting for a non related company but after that the
trail is cold.
Neale Rosanoski, 9 February 2004
Bolton Steam Shipping Co. Ltd was founded by Frederick Bolton in 1874 as F.
Bolton & Company. The company ran a small fleet of tramp steamers to the Middle
and Far East. Bolton being the son of a painter, all the ships were called after
artists. After buying out a partner, Henry Kenneth, the company was re-named
Bolton Steam Shipping Co. Ltd in 1897. The company went into voluntary
liquidation in 1917 prior to Sir Frederick Bolton's retirement (he was knighted
in 1908).
In 1921 Frederick's son Louis Hamilton restarted the company the
shares being held by himself and two unmarried sisters. Louis Hamilton died in
1953 and was succeed by his son Frederick B. Bolton. The company took advantage
of a post-war boom, but after a slump in the market, it was sold to American Ted
Arison in 1982 ending its role as a shipowner.
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/153.html
National
Maritime Museum
Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the same
house flag (#39, p. 38).
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#3
Ivan Sache,
21 April 2021
![[Burdick & Cook houseflag]](../images/g/gb~bolt1.gif)
image by Ivan Sache,
21 April 2021
The
National Maritime Museum keeps a copy of the house flag with writing "F.B."
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/153.html
Ivan Sache,
21 April 2021
![[Booker Brothers McConnell and Co. houseflag]](../images/g/gb~bbmc.gif)
by Jarig Bakker,
based on the website of the National
Maritime Museum.
From the website of the National
Maritime Museum, "the house flag of Booker Brothers McConnell and Co.,
Liverpool. A blue, white and blue triband with a red 'B' on the white stripe in
the centre. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a
cotton hoist and is machine sewn. A rope and toggle is attached.
Booker Brothers McConnell and Co. was founded in 1832 as George Booker & Co.,
and traded in rum and sugar. The Booker family bought their first ship in 1835,
the shipping side of the business was run in addition to major sugar production
interests in British Guiana. The company merged with John McConnell & Co. in
1900. This multinational conglomerate company is now primarily a food
distributor."
Jarig Bakker, 5 August 2004
![[Bookless Brothers houseflag]](../images/g/gb~hfbbr.gif)
image by Ivan
Sache, 4 May 2021
Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Bookless
Brothers (#1880, p. 126), Aberdeen-based "fish curers", as horizontally divided
red-white-blue, charged in the center with two black "B's".
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#91
Ivan Sache, 4 May 2021
![[Booth Steamship Co., Ltd. houseflag]](../images/g/gb~bss.gif)
image by
Ivan Sache, 21 April 2021Based on
Wedge 1926 shows a white field
with red saltire; in the center a blue "B".
Jarig Bakker, 13 December 2004
Sampson (1957)
shows this flag with a black B.
James Dignan, 8 October 2003
Booth Steamship Co. Ltd. Formed in 1866 the original flag has a bee on it but
unfortunately there is no record of the flag colours. The next flag, adopted
towards the end of that century [certainly by 1885 at least] had a small "B"
wholly on the saltire with the red visible behind it as shown here. Then there
was a change to a larger letter with white behind it [see image below] which
occurred after the outbreak of WW2 according to
Loughran (1979) though sources up
to Brown 1951 show the older version with
Stewart (1953) on showing the new
version. I would suggest that Sampson has got the letter colour wrong with the
common confusion between dark blue and black. The company itself was absorbed
into Blue Star Line in 1975.
Neale Rosanoski, 9 February 2004
The origins of the Booth Steamship Company extend back to 1863 when the
brothers Alfred and Charles Booth established the partnership of Alfred Booth &
Co. with the main purpose of importing English light leather to the U.S.A. In
February 1865 the partnership placed contracts for two ships, the "Augustine"
and the "Jerome". Charles and Alfred Booth did not own these ships, instead each
vessel was owned by a partnership with Alfred Booth & Co. a common partner in
each. Alfred and Philip Holt assisted the Booths in these ventures and also
acted as partners, holding a number of shares in each vessel. By 1871 the Booths
were operating regular services to Northern Brazil along with the Red Cross Line
and the Maranham Steamship Co. with whom the Booths shared a friendly rivalry.
The Booth Steamship Co. Ltd. was incorporated on 24 June 1881 with Alfred
Booth & Co. having a majority shareholding in the new company. Following the
invention of the pneumatic tyre in 1888 Brazilian rubber enjoyed a boom, and by
1900 the Booth Line owned 14 vessels. In 1901 the Red Cross Line and the Booth
Steamship Co. amalgamated to form a new company, the Booth Steamship Co. (1901)
Ltd. However at an Extraordinary General Meeting held on 21 December 1901 it was
unanimously resolved that the name "Booth Steamship Co. Ltd." be adopted.
Also in 1901 the Booth Iquitos Line was established, and when this was absorbed
by the Booth Steamship Co. in 1913 possessed two vessels. In 1902 Alfred Booth &
Co. were involved in the establishment of the Manaos Harbour Co., a venture in
which they had substantial holdings, and for some time, a controlling interest.
In 1903 the Company introduced tours to Lisbon and Madeira, and in connection
with these produced a guidebook.
During World War I eleven Booth Line
vessels were requisitioned by the Government for the war effort and nine of
these ships were lost. By the end of World War I the Booth Line consisted of 18
vessels, totaling 72,149 tons. The reduced post-war fleet caused a reduction in
services, and a general fall off in the Amazon trade saw attempts by the company
to diversify its interests. One such move was the introduction of the tourist
cruise "1000 Miles Up The Amazon".
During World War II the Booth Line again
suffered losses, and in 1946 the parent company, Alfred Booth & Co., which had
substantial interests other than shipping, decided to sell the entire shipping
concern with its subsidiaries in England, the United States and Brazil. In April
1946 the Vestey Group acquired the Booth Steamship Co. but it continued to
function as a separate line.
In April 1955 the Company entered into the West
Indian trade, in 1961 a service linking Canada, the West Indies and Brazil was
inaugurated and the following year the Gulf Service was introduced.
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/cc7b51e5-99cc-479a-87d3-aa5d5ff870d6
The National Archives
Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912)
shows the house flag of The Booth Steamship Company, Ltd. (#11, p. 37) as white
with a red saltire superimposed in the center with a blue "B".
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#2
Ivan
Sache, 21 April 2021
![[Booth Steamship Co., Ltd. houseflag]](../images/g/gb~b126.gif)
image by
Ivan Sache, 21 April 2021
I have in my possession a menu that my mother picked up when she arrived in
England in 1958. She tells me that 1958 was the last time RMS Hilary carried
passengers because it later became a cargo ship. The menu has the coat of arms
which depict a circle with the Booth Steamship Co. Ltd and inside that a white
flag with red cross and a blue B in the middle. There is no red within the blue
as I noted on the website.
Valletta Bayley, 4 July 2007
![[Borchard Lines houseflag]](../images/g/gb~borch.gif)
by Ivan Sache, 29 February 2004
White flag with a wind-rose made of a
four-pointed blue star (N W S E) and a four-pointed red star (NE SE SW NE)
superimposed on it.
Ivan Sache, 29 February 2004
Borchard Lines Ltd. Flag emblem is that of the German company
Fairplay Schleppdampfschiffs Reederei Richard
Borchard GmbH with the colours reversed.
Neale Rosanoski, 22 March 2004
![[Boston Deep Sea Fishing and Ice Co. houseflag]](../images/g/gb~bdsfi.gif)
by Jarig Bakker,
based on the website of the National
Maritime Museum.
From the website of the National
Maritime Museum, "the house flag of the Boston Deep Sea Fishing and Ice Co.
Ltd. On a blue swallow-tailed burgee, there is a white shield with three red
crowns. The design is loosely based on the arms of Boston, Lincolnshire - sable
and three coronets. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It
has a cotton hoist and shield. The flag is machine sewn. A rope and toggle is
attached.
The shipping company was formed on 7 August 1885 and started in business with
seven second-hand fishing smacks. Two new steam trawlers were launched for the
company the following November. These vessels were initially based at Hull, but
a fish quay and stores were shortly after built at Boston, Lincolnshire. By the
1890s the company was making a profit. In 1922, a collier, the Steam Ship
'Lockwood' went aground across the harbour mouth completely blocking it. The
vessel was salvaged by the Boston Deep Sea Fishing and Ice Co., but because the
company had trouble obtaining payment from Boston Corporation for this work, the
indignant owner, Fred Parkes, decided to move the business to Fleetwood and
Grimsby. This marked the end of Boston as a major fishing port. During the years
that followed the company acquired many subsidiaries and owned fleets in
Fleetwood, Hull, Grimsby and Lowestoft. It was liquidated and reformed as Boston
Deep Sea Fisheries. The company ended its operations in 1979 following the
imposition of 200-mile fishing limits and EEC quotas."
Jarig Bakker, 5 August 2004
![[Bowles Bros. houseflag]](../images/g/gb~hfbob.gif)
image by Ivan
Sache, 24 April 2021
Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of
Bowles Bros. (#502, p. 60), a London-based company, as white with a red emblem
including three white square diamonds bordered in red, one bigger and the two
other.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#25
Ivan Sache, 24 April 2021
![[G.W. Bowman houseflag]](../images/g/gb~hfgwb.gif)
image by Ivan
Sache, 21 April 2021
Lloyds Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912)
shows the house flag of "G.W. Bowman" (#49, p. 39), a company based in Hull, as
blue with the white letters "GWB".
Ivan Sache, 12 March 2008
![[C.T. Bowring & Co., Ltd. houseflag]](../images/g/gb~bowrg.gif)
by Ivan Sache, 14 March 2004The flag is white with a red saltire.
![[J.E. Bowser & Son houseflag]](../images/g/gb~hfbow.gif)
image by Ivan
Sache, 3 May 2021
Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of J.E.
Bowser & Son (#1692, p. 117), a Newcastle-based shipping company, as white,
charged in the center with a white crescent inscribed in a blue disc.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#82
Ivan
Sache, 3 May 2021
![[Boyd Line houseflag]](../images/g/gb~boyd.gif)
by Jarig Bakker,
based on the website of the National
Maritime Museum.
From the website of the National
Maritime Museum, "the house flag of the Boyd Line Ltd, Hull. A red, white
and red triband with a red 'B' on a white stripe in the centre. The flag is made
of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine
sewn. A rope and toggle is attached.
Boyd Line Ltd started in 1936 with three distant water trawlers. Although
adversely affected by 200 mile fishing limits and EC membership, the company was
still in operation in 2003, fishing in the North Atlantic with two filleter/freezer
trawlers. The company supplies white fish to food processors and retailers. Boyd
Line Management Services also act as fishery consultants."
Jarig Bakker, 5 August 2004
British Shipping lines: continued
