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Letocart & Cie (Shipping company, France)

House flag of Leotdart - Image by Ivan Sache, 16 February 2004

History of Leotcart
House flag of Letocart

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History of Letocart

The company was founded in 1894 to serve scheduled lines specialized in the transport of pilgrims to Palestine. Letocart operated a single ship, SS Notre-Dame-du-Salut, built in Glasgow in 1875 for the Castle Line as SS Dunrobin-Castle, purchased by a shipowner from Bordeaux in 1893 and sold to Letocart next year.

Short after the inauguration of the Palestine line, SS Notre-Dame-du-Salut was commissioned as an hospital ship for the colonial expedition to Madagascar. The pilgrimage service resumed in 1896 only. The ship was commissioned again in 1900 as an hospital ship during the Boxers' war in China.
In 1902, Letocart sold the ship to L. Bertaux; renamed SS L'Étoile, the hsip was operated on the Palestine line until 1913, when deemed timeworn. To honour his last contracts, Bertaux had to charter a ship from the SGTM.

Source: Paul Bois. Armements marseillais - Compagnies de navigation et navires à vapeur (1831-1988), published by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry Marseille-Provence [boi03].

Ivan Sache, 16 February 2004

House flag of Letocart

P. Bois [boi03] shows the house flag of Letocart as white with a big blue cross patty surrounded with four small blue crosses. The design of the flag was undoubtedly inspired by the flag of the ancient Kingdom of Jerusalem.

Ivan Sache, 16 February 2004