The Fleets
Turnbull, Martin & Company was founded in Glasgow in 1874 as a cargo company. In 1884, frozen meat and passenger services started to New Zealand and in 1893, the name Scottish Shire Line was first used for the ships sailing to New Zealand via South Africa and Australian ports (not to be confused with the Shire Line of Steamers).
The joint Federal-Houlder-Shire Line was formed in 1904 and the Clan Line acquired a controlling interest in Shire Line in 1910. Federal Line was sold to the New Zealand Shipping Co. and Houlder Line withdrew from the New Zealand trade in 1912.
By 1918 the Shire Line was operating as part of the Clan Line, although their ships retained their own naming system and livery. Transfers between the companies were common and in 1956. the British & Commonwealth Shipping Co. was formed by the merger of the Clan and Union-Castle groups (see Clan Line history). By 1967 the company had disappeared as a separate entity.
Many thanks to Ted Finch for his assistance in collecting this data. The following list was extracted from various sources. This is not an all inclusive list but should only be used as a guide.
Routes
- 1874-1884 General trading.
- 1884-1967 Glasgow / Manchester / Liverpool / London - Las Palmas - Dakar - Cape Town - Adelaide - Melbourne - Sydney - Auckland - Wellington - Lyttelton - Port Chalmers - Cape Town - London - Continent - Glasgow / Liverpool / Manchester.
- British India Line routes: UK - Suez - Cairns - Townsville - Gladstone - Brisbane.
- 1917-1967 Clan Line routes: East and South African services.
Ships
| Name | Built | Additional Information | GRT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Argyllshire | 1911 | 1933 transferred to Clan Line renamed Clan Urquhart (2), 1937 scrapped. | 9,564 |
| Ayrshire (1) | 1877 | 1889 sold to Runciman's North Moor SS Co., South Shields. | 1,354 |
| Ayrshire (2) | 1903 | 1917 transferred to Clan Line, 1926 caught fire and sank in Indian Ocean. | 7,749 |
| Banffshire (1) | 1894 | 1915 sold to Blue Star Line, renamed Brodness. | 5,537 |
| Banffshire (2) | 1911 | ex- Clan Macrae, 1921 transferred from Clan Line renamed Banffshire, 1932 transferred to Houston Line, 1943 torpedoed and sunk in Indian Ocean. | 5,058 |
| Berwickshire | 1912 | ex- Clan Macarthur, 1920 transferred from Clan Line renamed Berwickshire, 1944 torpedoed and sunk in Indian Ocean. | 7,382 |
| Buteshire (1) | 1877 | 1888 sold to Runciman's North Moor SS Co., South Shields. | 1,355 |
| Buteshire (2) | 1893 | 1915 sold to Houlder Bros., renamed Bollington Grange. | 5,534 |
| Buteshire (3) | 1912 | ex- Clan Macewen, 1920 transferred from Clan Line renamed Buteshire, 1932 transferred to Houston Line, 1948 scrapped. | 5,140 |
| Clan Mactaggart | 1920 | 1935 transferred from Clan Line, 1942 torpedoed and sunk off Spain. | 7,603 |
| Elderslie | 1884 | 1897 sold to Talbot SS Co., London. | 2,761 |
| Elginshire | 1881 | 1892 wrecked Vera Cruz. | 2,069 |
| Fifeshire (1) | 1878 | 1883 wrecked off Spain. | 1,353 |
| Fifeshire (2) | 1887 | 1898 sold to the Ducal Line, Glasgow, renamed Duke Of Fife. | 3,821 |
| Fifeshire (3) | 1898 | 1911 wrecked near Aden; loss of 24 lives. | 5,672 |
| Lanarkshire | 1940 | 1959 transferred to Bullard King, renamed Umgazi, 1960 transferred to Springbok Line, renamed Gysbok, 1961 transferred to Safmarine, renamed South African Farmer, 1963 scrapped. | 9,816 |
| Morayshire (1) | 1890 | 1898 sold to the Ducal Line, Glasgow, renamed Duke Of Portland. | 3,822 |
| Morayshire (2) | 1898 | 1915 sold to Blue Star Line, renamed Brodliffe. | 5,464 |
| Nairnshire (1) | 1889 | 1898 sold to the Ducal Line, Glasgow, renamed Duke Of Norfolk. | 3,819 |
| Nairnshire (2) | 1899 | 1915 sold to Blue Star Line, renamed Brodholme. | 5,673 |
| Perthshire (1) | 1893 | 1915 taken over by the Admiralty as supply ship, 1919 became HMS Perthshire. | 5,574 |
| Perthshire (2) | 1936 | 1950 transferred to Clan Line, 1963 transferred to Houston Line, 1964 sold to Greece, renamed Borias and scrapped. | 10,496 |
| Ross-shire | 1881 | 1897 sold to W.S. Miller, Glasgow. | 2,080 |
| Sandringham | 1872 | 1874 purchased from G. Dale, 1894 sold to Italy, renamed Soria. | 1,159 |
| Stirlingshire (1) | 1928 | ex- Clan Macdonald, 1929 transferred from Clan Line renamed Stirlingshire, 1940 torpedoed and sunk in Atlantic. | 6,022 |
| Stirlingshire (2) | 1945 | ex- Empire Falkland, 1946 purchased by Houston Line renamed Stirlingshire but operated by Turnbull Martin & Co., 1966 scrapped. | 6,987 |