In its heyday, the White Star Line was revered as one of the best transatlantic shipping lines around, known for its luxurious ships, world class officers and global popularity. Yet today, it is remembered in popular culture almost solely for the Titanic and Britannic disasters, and the infamy of its chairman, J. Bruce Ismay. However, there is so much more to White Star Line and its influence spread across the entire ocean liner industry. In just a few years, White Star Line was building some of the grandest and most innovative ships around, but financial mismanagement, the 1929 financial crash and the loss of two of her greatest ships, saw this once great line end with a whimper, slowly fading out of existence after a merger with rivals Cunard.
White Star Line is a company with a rich but complex history, so get ready because this is going to be a long one.
1845-1869: White Star Line's Beginnings
It wasn't until 1869 that the White Star Line as we now know it was founded. In 1845, it was founded by John Pilkington and Henry Wilson as a steam-packet company operating from Liverpool and serving the UK-Australia trade. Migration to Australia was booming by 1851 following the discovery of gold, so steamship trade on this route was certainly a lucrative one. White Star Line (WSL as I will later refer to it) chartered a number of ships, notably including RMS Tayleur in 1854, which was owned by Charles Moore and Co. the largest ship at the time of her launch. However, Tayleur would live a short life. On 21st January 1854, on her maiden voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne, she sailed off course and directly into a storm. She ran aground just off the island of Lambay and ultimately sank. Fortunately, the ship was close enough to shore that many were able to get themselves to shore, but sadly only 280 of more than 650 aboard survived. Unfortunately for White Star Line, this would not be the last of its major ships to sink on her maiden voyage...
A drawing depicting RMS Tayleur
Following the disaster, WSL decided to order their own ships, but this required significant investment. In 1856, the company lost its postal contracts but continued to invest in new ships and new routes, according to migration trends. In 1863 it received its first ever steamship, but the company's prospects over the coming years did not improve. In 1864, it merged with Black Ball Line and Eagle Line, but despite significant investments the merger was struggling and WSL broke off, turning its focus to the transatlantic trade.
However, things only got worse. In 1867, the Royal Bank of Liverpool failed and White Star Line's debts of £527,000 forced the line into bankruptcy.
Although the original White Star Line was short-lived, in 1869 it would enter into a new era. The Oceanic Steam Navigation Company was founded and officially registered in 1869 by Thomas Henry Ismay and purchased the trade name and house flag of White Star Line for £1,000 (approximately £100,000 today). Ismay would build the White Star Line we know today. Almost immediately afterwards, the new company ordered its first ship to be built by Harland and Wolff, marking the beginning of a long and famous partnership.
The Ismays
Before I jump into the rest of this, I thought it would be important to talk about Thomas Ismay and his son, Bruce, who would eventually take the reigns of the company.
Thomas Ismay was born on 7 January 1837 in Maryport, Cumberland. His father was a shipbuilder who also ran a business in timber. When he was 16, Thomas began an apprenticeship at a shipbuilders in Liverpool, before beginning his own business ventures. An intelligent businessman, by 1868 he had interests in ships to Australia and was also a director of National Line, a modest transatlantic shipping company, before founding the Oceanic Steamship Company.
A photo of Thomas Henry Ismay, date unknown
In 1859, he married Margaret Bruce, and on 12 December 1862, their first son, Joseph Bruce Ismay, was born. Bruce would be the oldest of seven children born to Thomas and Margaret, and took considerable interest in his father's company. Bruce became an apprentice for the firm, touring the world, eventually becoming a partner in 1891 and chairman in 1899.
A fascinating character, Bruce is said to have had an assertive and insistent personality, even coming across as 'annoying' at times. Yet he was also considered to be kind and warm-hearted, despite being widely depicted as a villain following the Titanic disaster.
Although so much has focused on Bruce's life during and after Titanic, he has become intrinsically tied with the legacy of the company.
A photo of Joseph Bruce Ismay
The Oceanic Class and beginning of a new era
The Oceanic would be the first of six ships ordered by White Star Line in the 1870s, the others would include the Adriatic, Baltic, Republic, Celtic and Atlantic. Here, WSL would begin its tradition of the names of its ships ending in -ic, a tradition for many lines, such as Cunard, whose names ended in -ia.
Oceanic would measure 420 feet in length with a gross tonnage of 3,707 and a capacity of around 1,000 steerage and 166 saloon passengers (Third and First Class, respectively). She was designed for comfort beyond any other ship in existence and sported a gold-coloured funnel with a black top, a feature that would become distinctive for WSL ships.
Oceanic departed Liverpool on 2nd March with only 64 passengers and was forced to undergo repairs in Holyhead after her bearings overheated. Eventually, she arrived in New York on 28th March and her departure back to Liverpool would be witnessed by some 50,000 spectators.
An artist's depiction of Oceanic's maiden voyage, 1871
By late 1872, WSL completed its ambitious plan and the construction of the remaining five vessels were completed. Adriatic and then the Baltic would also manage to capture the Blue Riband, a remarkable success for this new company.
At the same time, the company continued its ambition by ordering ships for the India and South America routes. Voyages to India were unprofitable, however, and the sinking of the Atlantic in 1873 led to WSL selling its South America ships, Asiatic and Tropic, to keep the company afloat.
Growing success on the North Atlantic route, 1874-1900
The success of White Star ships brought them into rivalry with other transatlantic lines, most notably with Cunard in Britain. To keep up, White Star ordered two new ships, Britannic and Germanic. These ships would sport two funnels, measure 455 feet in length, 5,000 gross tonnes and top speeds of 15 knots. Over the course of 1876 and 1877, these two ships would once again bring WSL to dominance with both capturing the Blue Riband.
With advancing success and a surplus of liners, White Star expanded into the Pacific, operating both passenger and cargo ships, although this was largely abandoned by the end of the century.
Britannic serving as a troopship during the Boer War, taken sometime between 1900 and 1902
Competition between the lines saw rapid development in naval technology and by 1877, Britannic and Germanic, at just twelve years old, were already deemed obselete. To replace them, Thomas Ismay received financial support from the British government to build two passenger liners which could be converted into armed-merchant cruisers. These new, innovative ships would be known as the Teutonic and Majestic, measuring 565 feet in length and over 9,000 gross registered tonnes.
They would also be innovative for two other reasons, however. They were the first WSL ships to be fitted with twin screw, triple powered engines, and were the first WSL ships to contain three classes; first, second and third.
Completed in 1890, these new ships would burst onto the scene, as Majestic captured the Blue Riband in 1891 with an average speed of 20.1 knots, only to be beaten two weeks later by her sister Teutonic, crossing at 20.35 knots. Once again, White Star Line were victors of the transatlantic run, but this would be short lived.
RMS Majestic in port at Liverpool (image taken from R.M.S. Majestic (I) (greatships.net))
Rapid advancements in shipbuilding in the 1890s meant that WSL ships were quickly eclipsed, most notably by North German Lloyd's Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse. In 1897, White Star began plans for two new ambitious ships, to be named Oceanic II and Olympic. The new Oceanic would be so large, however, that Harland and Wolff had to build a gantry crane before her construction could even begin.
On 14th January 1899, Oceanic was launched. Measuring 704 feet in length, (the largest ship to be built since Brunel's Great Eastern), 17,254 GRT, a service speed of 19 knots and a passenger capacity of over 1,700, Oceanic blew her rival ships out of the water.
However, weeks later, Thomas Ismay's health deteriorated and plans for Oceanic's sister, Olympic, did not materialise (not for now, at least). In November 1899, he passed away at 62 years of age. The heir to this White Star throne would be none other than J. Bruce Ismay.
Colourised photo of RMS Oceanic (1890)
1900-1912, Bruce Ismay, the IMM and the Olympic Class
The International Mercantile Marine Company was founded by the investment banker, J.P Morgan. By 1900, the steamship industry was booming due to large levels of migration and rapidly improving shipping technology, making this a lucrative trade. As a result, Morgan endeavoured to monopolise the shipping industry through IMM, a holding company comprised of a number of subsidiary companies.
Investment banker J.P Morgan, who participated in the creation of General Electric, U.S. Steel and the Federal Reserve. He also invested heavily into railroads.
In 1902, WSL was bought by IMM, although this was not without hesitation from Ismay and the family. However, IMM would offer WSL shareholders ten times the profits made in 1900, and Bruce Ismay ultimately accepted the deal. White Star Line, alongside American Line and Red Star Line would comprise this new company, as well as close relationships with Hamburg-Amerika and North German Lloyd Lines.
In 1904, Ismay would replace the aging Clement Griscom as president of IMM.
The merger of this many shipping lines, especially White Star, caused great fears about the monopolisation of the shipping industry, and the British government would end up providing significant funding to rivals Cunard, enabling them to build Lusitania and Mauretania.
The merger not only meant massive profits for WSL shareholders, but also a number of 'intermediate' liners which gave White Star even further domination of the transatlantic routes.
With more money, more competition and better technology, White Star Line would begin an 'express' route to New York. Instead of departing from Liverpool, its ships would now depart from Southampton, and it would now stop at Cherbourg as well as Queenstown (now Cove). These ships would offer a 'Wednesday' service, departing Southampton on Wednesdays, and meant a more efficient, more reliable service which could take on larger numbers of passengers.
The Olympic Class
There are two main factors that prompted White Star to construct the new, Olympic-Class liners. The first was to create a more efficient express service. The idea would be to establish a regular seven day service; when one ship departed Southampton on Wednesday, the other would depart from New York on the same day. However, White Star's current ships had neither sufficient speed nor capacity to operate these express service efficiently.
The second factor was the launch of two new ships by rivals Cunard, the Mauretania and the Lusitania. These new, four funnelled ships were larger and much faster than anything White Star could offer. In Germany, the Kaiser Class ships had started a new era of ocean liner technology. In order to keep up, White Star needed bigger, faster and more luxurious ships.
It is said that the idea to build the three new liners was born out of a dinner conversation between J. Bruce Ismay and J.P. Morgan in 1907. I'm sure, however, that the idea of the new, revolutionary liners had been circling for a little bit longer.
The idea soon became reality, as White Star once again commissioned Harland and Wolff, and by 1908, the designs for these new ships were ready. Olympic and Titanic would be built side by side, on brand new shipyards to accommodate their enormous scale. Olympic would be completed in 1911 and Titanic in 1912. Construction of Britannic would begin almost immediately. If you would like to learn more about the construction and career of RMS Olympic, you can find the post to that in my blog.
Olympic and Titanic under construction together at Harland and Wolff shipyard, 1910
The largest man-made moving objects ever created, and at the time the most luxurious, Olympic and Titanic were immediately popular. The three liners are still widely considered by many (including myself) to be three of the greatest ever to sail the seas, but sadly, two of them would suffer a devastating fate.
The Titanic Disaster
Of course, it is impossible to talk about White Star Line without talking about Titanic. In some ways, the disaster would represent the end of the heydey for this line, for the loss of Titanic and then Britannic would contribute to White Star's decline.
By the time Titanic began her maiden voyage on 10 April 1912, Olympic had already been in service for nearly a year and had experienced immense success in popularity. As a result, her younger, larger sister was eagerly anticipated and over 100,000 spectators watched her departure.
Designed with top-of-the-range steel and able to survive a breach to four of her watertight compartments, Titanic was designed to survive nearly any collision other than the one she would face on 14 April. It is believed that the quote, "God himself could not sink this ship", was made by a crew member at Southampton.
The collision with the iceberg and subsequent sinking of Titanic on her maiden voyage would see the deaths of 1,496 people, including Captain E.J. Smith and chief designer Thomas Andrews. Bruce Ismay would be the highest ranking survivor of the disaster, something which would damage his reputation forever.
The sinking of the Titanic, painted by Ken Marschall
As the highest ranking survivor, Ismay underwent questioning at the British Board of Trade enquiry. Much of the public saw him as a coward at best, and a villain at worst. One passenger claimed she overheard Ismay urging Captain Smith to speed up but there is no evidence to suggest that this happened or that he would have had any reason to do so. Perhaps the biggest issue however, was that of the lifeboats, as Titanic carried only twenty, less than half that of the ship's capacity. Some say this was to preserve the aesthetics of the decks, which may be true, although Titanic was compliant with the outdated Board of Trade requirements, which required only sixteen lifeboats for a ship over 10,000 tonnes - Titanic and Olympic were both over 45,000 tonnes, for perspective
The characterisation of Ismay is therefore a very complex one, in fact I could probably write a post on Ismay alone. However, I do believe it is important to list some of the facts and set the stage for his future and the future of White Star Line.
The Titanic disaster would not only cause significant financial loss for WSL, but led to a brief loss of confidence in large ocean liners including Olympic, and construction of Britannic was delayed to incorporate extra safety features into her design. Ismay resigned from his post as President of IMM and Chairman of WSL on 30th June 1913 and was replaced by Harold Sanderson.
The First World War and Impact on WSL
A number of White Star ships were acquired for the First World War. Most notably, Britannic was converted into a hospital ship, running between Britain and the Dardenelles, so never saw life as a passenger ship. On 21 November 1916, she struck a mine in the Aegean sea, where 30 of the 1066 passengers lost their lives, and 1036 survivors. Some of the other ships lost included Arabic, Oceanic, Cymric, and Georgic.
The wreck of HMHS Britannic
The First World War meant huge losses for White Star, leaving them with only one of the three Olympic Class ships which they had spent immense amounts of money and time to build. However, as part of the war reparations from Germany, WSL received SS Bismarck, renamed RMS Majestic, and SS Columbus, renamed RMS Homeric, among others. Majestic was the largest ship in the world at the time, and would run alongside Olympic during the 1920s for its express service. Homeric would also run alongside them, although this ship was smaller and slower.
A White Star Line postcard showcasing their latest addition, RMS Majestic, 1922
Exit From IMM
By the 1920s, IMM was in a difficult position, and White Star's agreement with the British Board of Trade that the company would officially remain a British company would put it at odds with American subsidies. In 1927, White Star was sold to Lord Kylsant, who had succeeded the late Lord Pirrie as owner of Harland and Wolff. The addition of WSL gave Kylsant the largest fleet in the world.
Owen Phillips, also known as Lord or 1st Baron Kylsant
However, Kylsant was in a precarious financial situation, struggling to repay loans whilst maintaining such a large fleet of ships. To revitalise the company, he invested money into the UK-Australia run, a gamble which proved unsuccessful and pushed his company to the edge of bankruptcy.
Yet, Kylsant remained ambitious, and in 1928 the keel was laid down at Harland and Wolff for a new (third) Oceanic. Designed at over 1,000 feet long and using a new diesel-electric propulsion system, this new superliner would have put White Star back into contention against rival companies, whose ships had made White Star's seem increasingly obsolete. Sadly, White Star's financial troubles were worsened in 1929 when the Great Depression hit, and Oceanic's keel was dismantled to construct two smaller, modest liners instead; MV Britannic and MV Georgic.
How Oceanic III might have looked (digitally designed by Anton Logvynenko)
The problems did not stop here, as Lord Kylsant was arrested and convicted in 1931 for having falsified accounts to make White Star appear more profitable in order to attract investment.
To stay afloat (pardon the pun), White Star sold off its oldest ships and reduced its fleet. Britannic and Georgic soon became profitable, but it was not enough to prevent decline. In 1932, White Star was unable to repay a debt of one million pounds to Australia, so numbers of its Australian ships were requisitioned.
At the same time, Bruce Ismay attempted to make an agreement with the British government which would operate smaller liners to save the company. This plan unfortunately did not come to pass.
Cunard-White Star Merger
The Great Depression had hit almost every shipping line hard, including Cunard. A merger between the rivals would mean that the companies would receive vital funding from the British government to survive, and in 1934 Cunard-White Star was officially established. As Cunard had a larger fleet and the future Queen Mary was still under construction, Cunard shareholders owned 62% of the company, compared to 38% for White Star. Over the course of the next decade, White Star would effectively be absorbed by Cunard and its ships, including Olympic, scrapped.
In 1947, Cunard bought out White Star shares completely, officially signalling the end of White Star. Yet, its ships would continue to fly both house flags, until 1968, when this practice was finally retired, and White Star had all but disappeared.
Cunard-White Star Line logo
Closing Thoughts
In popular culture today, White Star is less known for its successes and more for its losses; the infamy of its former chairman J. Bruce Ismay, the devastating loss of the Titanic, but its history is so much wider than that.
White Star Line was a vital part of ocean liner history; its rapid rise to success and its contributions in the development of liner technology cannot be overstated. Yet, despite all that, financial mismanagement and deeply unfortunate circumstances in the losses of Titanic and Britannic sent the company into a downward spiral, and it slowly faded out of existence with a mere whimper.
In Liverpool, the old White Star headquarters can still be seen near the docks on James Street, and the passenger ferry SS Nomadic, the only White Star left in existence, can be visited in Belfast.
Albion House, the former head offices of White Star Line, at 30 James Street, Liverpool
SS Nomadic can be visited in Titanic Quarter, Belfast
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