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Extracted from an adaptation of a Steel and Bennie Centenerary publication in Sea Breezes 1957.
Part Two - Transition The principal business was still lighterage although the firm owned the paddle-tugs ADMIRAL, NEPTUNE, VANGAURD, LORD DERBY, HOTSPUR, CAMPAIGNER and CHIEFTAIN. The widening and deepening of the river channel was proceeding apace and as early as 1863 the Anchor Line had begun direct services between Glasgow and New York. When the Anchor Line had no further use for its lighter DESPATCH she was acquired and contributed many years of useful service. Apart from the Anchor Line vessels and the CITY OF ROME which went into James Watt Dock, Greenock, all ships' cargoes were lightened at the Tail o the Bank before proceeding to Glasgow. Competition was, however, very keen and to offset the loss of trade by current developments on the river at this transitional stage, a further outlet for the company's enterprise had to be found. Accordingly a subsidiary company was formed for coastwise trading, principally between Glasgow, Kirkcudbright and the Wigtownshire ports. The service originated with the coasters MERLIN and RONA and continued with the STARLING (built by George Brown and Company, Greenock in 1905.) From time to time the GANNET, PENGUIN and PELICAN were diverted to this trade as incentive offered. The return cargoes of these vessels were often granite setts for the streets of Glasgow brought from the quarries at Creetown. This service was curtailed during the war years but continued until 1917 when the trade lapsed. At the beginning of the century a peculiar activity of the company was the delivery of mail by lighter from Greenock to Dunoon and the other piers in the Holy Loch and Loch Long. Towing activities of the company were in no way confined to the Clyde. In those days before wireless telegraphy, tugs went down channel 'seeking' sailing vessels from Queenstown and Falmouth, and many tales can be told of the bargains made by the tugmasters to tow these ships to port. The method adopted by the tug companies was to station their fastest tugs in Kilchattan Bay against the likelihood of obtaining towage contracts from vessels coming to the Clyde from the South. Communication was through the local post office from the coastguard stations; immediately news was received the tugs made off to the expected arrival with all haste. There was always jockeying for position on these occasions and times when the tugmasters' tempers frayed. Alertness in manoeuvring tugs did not always prevent collisions by rivals intercepting and crossing courses. Speed was an essential factor for tugs in those days but in modern practice the same need is not felt. The company's tug CRUISER built in 1904 by Alexander Stephen & Sons, Glasgow was one of the smartest vessels for this type of work and on occasion would go seeking well beyond the Tuskar Rock. The company parted with the tug at the end of 1950 when she was sold to Mersey tug owners and renamed B C LAMEY (Editor's note: broken up in 1961) Although towage was now becoming more and more the major part of the firm's activities, even the character of the lighterage trade had completely changed by 1890. When previously the lighters had assisted in the unloading or part unloading of ships at the TOB the main trade was now the transportation of sugar from the Greenock refineries to Glasgow where it was loaded in outward bound ships. However the lighterage service with the steam lighters PLOVER and LINTIE (latter coaster built by George Brown & Company Greenock, 1909) continued on a diminishing scale until 1919 when, with the advent of many motor lorries on the Glasgow-Greenock road, the trade further dwindled. The cartage side of the business, which included all the horses and lorries, was disposed of in May 1922. After periods when the two remaining lighters were laid up through lack of trade, the PLOVER was sold to the Clyde Navigation Trustees for a moderate sum in July 1923. Finally in March 1925 the lighterage business with the sole reamining lighter LINTIE was sold to Clyde Cargo Steamers.
In 1900 there was a vertical boom in Clyde shipbuilding. There were shipyards almost all the way from Finnieston to Greenock. The term Clydebuilt from this time on became synonymous with quality and skill in marine craftsmanship. The naval rearmament programme which was to precede the First World War gave an addded impetus to this great activity. Launches were everyday occurences. The firm's tugs attended many of these launches and perfected techniques in towing which are used today. Paddle driven tugs were now giving way to screw propulsion and the first tug of the fleet was a new NEPTUNE built by Barclay Curle and Company in 1894. Salvage cases are always interesting and the company had a fair share of these. A notable case in which the CRUISER took an effective part was when the South American passenger ship TAQUARY, making her maiden voyage to South America ran on to Ailsa Craig. The accident has never been properly explained, although it appears to have been a clear night. Shortly afterwards two ships piled up alongside the TAQUARY. The CRUISER was quickly on the scene and, after several days' work, successfully refloated the TAQUARY. Court of Session proceedings ensued, and surprisingly enough an award was made that did not cover expenses, but on appeal this judgement was reversed and sizable salvage was awarded. The TARQUARY case was notable and is quoted in law - constituting on of the authorities on salvage awards In 1903 the partnership became a private limited company and David Bennie who remained a bachelor was joined by his nephew David Findlay Bennie. The following year David F. Bennie was appointed a director and later secretary; he was to play an important part in the company's activities in the days which lay ahead. He was the second son of the Rev. William Bennie, the parish minister of Bathgate. Educated at Bathgate Academy and on the death of his father, at Glasgow High School, his early training in shipping affairs was obtained as a junior in the firm of Robert McKill and Company, at one time well-known Glasgow shipbrokers. Before joining Steel and Bennie Ltd., he was for a short time in business for himself as a shipbroker. The period immediately before 1914 was a busy and successful one in the company's history. There was no shortage of work, the regular liner services operating from Glasgow to all parts of the world kept the tugs fully employed as did the the repair work and launching activities. This peak of industry and actual prosperity on the Clyde, aided by the resultant trade brought about by the giant exhibitions of 1901 and 1911, marked the culmination of a century of engineering and shipbuilding on the Clyde. The century celebrations in 1912 of the COMET, the first (commercial) passenger steamer ever built in Great Britain, added to world interest in the development of Cldye trade generally. When hostilies began in 1914, the firm was ready and able to play a full part. Tugs were sent to Scapa Flow and elsewhere on Admiralty service. The triumphs and disasters of those years are more ably recorded elsewhere, but this much is clear, the jobs allocated to the tugs were done and done well, despite all difficulties. In 1917, David Bennie, whose health had been failing, retired after 55 years' service. He died on March 22, 1922 at the age of 78. David F. Bennie succeeded him as managing director, a position he held until his death at the age of 74 on November 1st, 1955. Later in 1917, a substantial shareholding in the company was acquired by Houlder Bros. and Co,.Ltd., of London. At the end of the war Steel and Bennie Ltd., like all other Clyde firms, turned once more to happier prospects of peace-time business. It was soon apparent however that times had changed and the enterprising days prior to 1914 had gone forever. The Clyde had resolutely given itself wholly to the war effort. Foreign customers during the war period had to look elsewhere for new tonnage, and in a number of cases had perforce to develop shipbuilding industries of their own. With Admiralty orders practically non-existant the prospects were far from bouyant. A press photograph published on November 19, 1921 depicted HMS HOOD being towed from her berth by the company's tugs; the picture bore the caption: "No more of this on the Clyde." The accompanying article explained that the Washington Conference proposals had resulted in the cancelling of three battleship contracts already placed on the river. Part Three continues tomorrow.... For part one see: The History of Steel and Bennie Part One |
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