Ellerman Lines
of 12 Moorgate Street, London.
1901 The company was registered 24 June, as the London, Liverpool and Ocean Shipping Co as the parent company for the rump of the Leyland organisation together with the Papayanni Co as well as acquiring certain other shipping interests. John Ellerman held 52% of the shares. In September it bought 50% of the shares of George Smith’s City Line and a month later 50% of Hall Line Ltd. John Ellerman personally bought the balance of the shares in the two companies. At the end of the year, a major restructuring of the group took place with all of Ellerman's holdings being sold to the parent in exchange for additional shares.
1902 The name was changed to the present title in January. [1]
Ellerman expanded into the closely regulated Atlantic and South African routes, as well as the route to India, and became a considerable troop and war supplies carrier in the latter phases of the South African War.
1904 A new, common uniform was brought into use for its employees and a company pennant.
1904–5 Acquired two other well-known older firms, Bucknalls and the Glen Line
1906 The Strick and Ellerman Lines worked in conjunction with the Southern Mahratta Railway Company, who had developed the port at Marmagoa[2]
WW1 The company lost 67 ships during the war
1916 The Wilson Line of Hull was taken over for about £4.1 million becoming Ellermans Wilson Line; Wilsons had been the largest private shipping line in the world.
1925 Strick and Ellerman Lines were operating services to the Persian Gulf[3]
WW2 Ellermans lost 85 ships, including the flagship City of Benares which was taking children (evacuees) to Canada. The ship was torpedoed and only 7 out of 90 children on board survived.
Ellerman's son left the day-to-day running of the firm in the hands of its managers.
After the mid-1950s, Ellerman Lines modernized in a deliberate and rational way, placing emphasis on new shipping routes to Australia, East Asia, the United States, and the Middle East.
Mid-1960s Ellerman Lines became one of the first British shipping companies to introduce containerization, purchasing several of the earliest container vessels in Britain.
1973 the fleet was consolidated in Ellerman City Liners.
1983 The company, now down to 6 ships, was sold to the Barclay Brothers and reformed as Ellerman Holdings.
1985 Management buy-out of the Ellerman Lines container shipping company[4]
1987 Trafalgar House purchased the shipping company which thereafter traded as Cunard-Ellerman to the Mediterranean
1989 Sold Ellerman Holdings, including Tollemache and Cobbold and J. W. Cameron and Co, to Brent Walker Group[5]
1991 Andrew Weir Shipping bought the Ellerman shipping interests.
A few chartered ships still carry the Ellerman colours and City names on Mediterranean routes.