This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website

British shipping companies (L)

Last modified: 2021-05-29 by rob raeside
Keywords: shipping lines |
Links: FOTW homepage | search | disclaimer and copyright | write us | mirrors



See also:

Lockett Wilson Line

[Lockett Wilson Line houseflag] image located by Eugene Ipavec, 6 August 2006

On the Kennedy, Hunter & Co. agencies list is the Lockett Wilson Line Ltd, London. See the history pages of the Dundee, Perth and London Shipping Company site:

“In 1954 the company acquired a minority interest in a small London-based firm, Lockett Wilson Ltd. This was to lead to another happy and profitable association as Lockett Wilson Ltd. were not only using Dundee Wharf, but were also in the market to buy ships. Soon the “Clova” and “Crombie” were transferred to the new firm and sailings were operated from London to Paris and also from Goole and Hull to Paris and Brussels. (…)
   The coastal home trade became increasingly difficult to operate profitably during the 1950’s and 1960’s (…and…) there were significant changes in the distribution pattern of cattle feedstuffs. As a result, important decisions were made about the future of the company. The most radical was the termination of the liner service between Dundee and London which had been run since the formation of the company in 1826. (…) The only coastal liner service remaining was the occasional voyage to Southampton with potatoes. The coastal fleet was reduced to four vessels by the beginning of 1963. (…)
   The year 1967 was the end of the line and in March the “Kingennie” tied up in the Tyne after a voyage from Swansea and the company flag (of Dundee, Perth & London, jm) was run down for the last time. The “Kingennie” was the last ship to be owned by the company and a ship-owning era of just over 140 years was at an end.
   The company maintained its interest in Lockett Wilson Line and Channel Shipping and their five ships. However, these were facing severe competition from ro-ro ferries and container ships. Dundee Wharf was sold in October, 1969.”

See this photo of a ship owned by LW 1963-1968: http://www.stegro.nl/Website1/Marne(2).htm

I do not know when Lockett Wilson was founded and the house flag must logically have been adopted before the takeover by Dundee, Perth & London. The flag is white and bears a large blue diamond, bordered white (visible thanks to black holding lines) and on which the white company initials L and W appear, the W floating above an L with an extended lower leg.
Jan Mertens, 15 February 2006

The Lockett Wilson Line was created by Air Commodore Charles Edward Stuart Lockett. Born 15 April 1910. Died 20 August 1966. He was an excellent pilot and instructor although he spent most of WW2 in German Prison Camps (escaped a few times and was re-captured). Retiring from the R.A.F., he became a ship owner in Jersey (Channel Islands), becoming a Lloyd's Agent in 1961 and German Consul for Jersey and Guernsey in 1966. He was killed flying his private plane off Alderney in a flying accident (fog). That's the "L".

My father in law was John Wilson (The "W") who was a second officer in the Merchant Navy during WW2. He was serving on a merchant ship on a secret mission. They had a Royal Navy Officer on board who was going to deliver secret documents. The Captain got drunk and sailed into a minefield. My father took over the ship and tried (successfully for a time) to get out of the minefield but they eventually hit a mine which sunk the ship. The only person killed was the R.N. Officer who went below to collect the secret documents from a safe intending to throw them overboard in a weighted container but went down with the ship. Hanging on to some wood with his right arm for a considerable time (days) in the minefield, when rescued by Germans his right arm had to be amputated. He eventually escaped from the Germans and made his way back to England obtaining valuable information. He was awarded the D.S.C by King George in person. (While serving on the LW Board of directors he obtained his Captain's papers, but never sailed as a Captain). Born February 6, 1907. Died: April 3 Rd.1979 in Jersey Channel Islands. When he left the Lockett Wilson Line he also became a Lloyds of London Agent and had no trouble climbing a rope ladder with only one arm. Unfortunately for the flag remained unchanged.
Hugh McCaffrey, 8 July 2010


London & Edinburgh Shipping Co.

[London & Edinburgh Shipping Co. houseflag] image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 8 August 2007

Based on a postcard collection.

A white flag with an ogival shield with the London armorial bearings on the upper hoist and the Edinburgh armorial bearings on the middle fly.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 8 August 2007

[Strong, Reid & Page houseflag] image by Ivan Sache, 26 April 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows a similar house flag (#701, p. 70) with the castle centered.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/35/
Ivan Sache, 26 April 2021


London & Overseas Freighters Ltd.

[London & Overseas Freighters Ltd. houseflag] image by Jarig Bakker, based on the website of the National Maritime Museum.

From the website of the National Maritime Museum, "the house flag of London & Overseas Freighters Ltd., London. A pennant divided horizontally into white over blue with a red five-pointed star 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."
Jarig Bakker, 20 August 2004


London & Pacific Petroleum Co., Ltd.

[London & Pacific Petroleum Co., Ltd. houseflag] image by Ivan Sache, 3 May 2021

The London & Pacific Petroleum Co. contributed to the Peruvian oil rush at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
In 1888, Genaro Helguero sold the La Brea y Parińas estate and the attached oil concession to Herbert Tweddle. The next year, Tweddle, who has paid 18,000 Ł, sold half of the estate to William Keswick, for 30,000 Ł. In 1890, Tweddle, Keswick, Lionell Ward, D. Jackson and O. A. Mygalt registered in London the London & Pacific Petroleum Co., with a social capital of 250,000 Ł. The oilfield was very profitable but production dramatically diminished following a long dispute that broke out between the associates in 1897.
In 1914, production resumed under the management of a new owner, the International Petroleum Co. Ltd., the South American subsidiary set up by the Standard Oil of New Jersey Co.
Successive attempts by the Peruvian government to take control of the La Brea y Parińas oilfield failed; on 9 October 1963, the Peruvian government eventually expropriated IPC, transferring the oilfield to the Empresa Petrolera Fiscal.

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of London & Pacific Petroleum Co., Ltd. (#1620, p. 114), a London-based shipping company, as blue with a white saltire.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#79
Ivan Sache, 3 May 2021


London & Peterhead Steam Fishing Co.

[London & Peterhead Steam Fishing Co. houseflag] image by Ivan Sache, 23 April 2008

Lloyds Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of "London & Peterhead Steam Fishing Co., Ltd." (#289, p. 50), a company based in London, as white with a blue border and the red letters "LP" in the middle.
Ivan Sache
, 23 April 2008 


London & Rochester Trading Co. Ltd.

[London and Rochester houseflag] image by Jarig Bakker, based on the website of the National Maritime Museum.

Shown on the website of the National Maritime Museum, as the Crescent Shipping line, this is the flag of the London & Rochester Trading Co. Ltd., Rochester, as depicted in Loughran (1979) with proportions 2:3 instead of 1:2 as on the Museum site.
Jarig Bakker, 10 August 2004

[London and Rochester houseflag] image by António Martins-Tuválkin, 10 December 2007

The postcard collection says (on card #8, 4th row, 1st flag): "London & Rochester Trading Co." and shows a ~2:3 red flag with a large and very narrow white crescent turned to the hoist, pointing slightly up.
António Martins-Tuválkin
, 10 December 2007

Photograph of example of flag from National Maritime Museum in Greenwich (London): https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/296.html shows a fatter upright crescent, close to the hoist.
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 24 April 2019

The company now continues as Crescent Shipping.


London & South Western Railway Co & London Brighton & South Coast Railway Co. Joint Committee

[London & South Western & Midlands Railway Companies houseflag] image by Ivan Sache, 29 April 2021

The London & South Western Railway, originally London & Southampton Railway, (1838-1839) was active from 1838 to 1923.
The London Brighton & South Coast Railway (aka the Brighton Line or the Brighton Railway) was active from 1846 to 1923, being formed by the amalgamation of five older companies.
The two companies were amalgamated into the Southern Railway in 1923.

The two companies operated a joint fleet of ferries serving Isle of Wight from Portsmouth. The service passed to the Southern Railway in 1923 and British Railways in 1948.

Simplon
http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/IOW1.html

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of London & South Western Railway Co, & London Brighton & South Coast Railway Co. Joint Committee (#1805, p. 122) as the Union Jack with a red border.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#87
Ivan Sache, 4 May 2021


London & South Western & Midlands Railway Companies

(Somerset & Dorset Joint Line)

[London & South Western & Midlands Railway Companies houseflag] image by Ivan Sache, 29 April 2021

The S&D became a jointly owned company in 1875, ownership being divided between the Midland Railway and the London and South Western Railway, subsequently the LMS with the SR. The line ran from the Bristol channel down to Bournemouth on the English channel connecting Bristol with Bournemouth, Poole and Southampton. The S&D used Bournemouth West station for its southern passenger terminus via running powers on the LSWR. A later addition was the branch line from Evercreech Junction to Bath Green Park station, which became the northern terminus of the S&D, Here the S&D joined the Midland Railway and the rest of the national network.
The S&D was mainly single track, making it popular with modellers, however it suffered from seasonal traffic variations, busy in summer, less so in winter. The companies goods rolling stock was transferred to the LSWR and MR in 1914, the passenger and non passenger coaching stock was transferred to the LMS and SR in 1930. The line was closed in 1966, amid some controversy.

https://www.igg.org.uk/rail/00-app2/joint/sdjr.htm
Mike Smith

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of the Somerset & Dorset Joint Line (#1180, p. 93) as blue with the white letters "S&DJR".
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#58
Ivan Sache, 29 April 2021


London Court Line Ltd.

[London Court Line Ltd. houseflag] image by Jarig Bakker, based on the website of the National Maritime Museum.

From the website of the National Maritime Museum, "the house flag of London Court Line Ltd. A rectangular white flag bearing a black tower and crescent. The flag is made of a machine sewn, wool and synthetic fibre bunting. The tower motif and the hoist are made of cotton fabric. A rope and toggle is attached. The Court Line Group purchased tankers from 1963 and these carried a blue house flag with a bird design.

The line was a tramp shipping company founded in 1905 by Philip Edward Haldinstein and based on London. His ships were all called after country houses with the suffix 'Court'. The fleet expanded greatly in the 1920s and was badly affected by the depression, many vessels being laid up. The company moved into bulk carriers in the 1960s and tankers. The company changed its naming scheme with new vessels having the prefix 'Halcyon' and also its livery. The group's diversified interests in airlines, package holidays, shipbuilding and repairing led to cash flow problems. As a result it went into liquidation in 1974."
Jarig Bakker, 20 August 2004


London Exchange Steamship Co., Ltd.

Also River Plate Steamship Co., Ltd.
(Andrew Low, Son & Co.)

[London Exchange Steamship Co., Ltd. houseflag] image by Ivan Sache, 29 April 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of the London Exchange Steamship Co., Ltd., also River Plate Steamship Co., Ltd. (Andrew Low, Son & Co.) (#1162, p. 92), as red with a white cross, charged in the center with a blue shield inscribing a white "L".
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#57 
Ivan Sache, 29 April 2021


London Gate Line

(H.W. Dillon)

[London Gate Line houseflag] image by Ivan Sache, 3 May 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of London Gate Line (H.W. Dillon) (#1667, p. 116), a London-based shipping company, as triangular, red with the white letters "HWD".
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#81
Ivan Sache, 3 May 2021


Londonderry Steamers

[Londonderry Steamers houseflag] image by Ivan Sache, 29 April 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Londonderry Steamers (#1089, p. 88), a Seaham Harbour-based company, as composed of vertical triangles, in turn blue and yellow.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#53
Ivan Sache, 29 April 2021


London Welsh Steamship Co., Ltd.

[London Welsh Steamship Co., Ltd. houseflag] image by Ivan Sache, 29 April 2021

The London Welsh Steamship Co. was acquired in 1911 by Furness, Withy and Co.

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of London Welsh Steamship Co., Ltd. (#1165, p. 92) as blue with the white letters "L.W.".
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#57  
Ivan Sache, 29 April 2021


British Shipping lines: continued