Passenger Vessels of Thomas Wilson Sons & Co. / Ellerman's Wilson Line
| Ship | Launched | Tonnage (GRT) | Notes and references |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tasso | 1852 | 610 | Built by Denny and launched as "Scandinavian" but renamed "Tasso" in 1870. Lost at Bergen in 1885. |
| Hero | 1866 | Operated on the Hull-Trondheim service. | |
| Rollo | 1870 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding for Gothenburg service | |
| Orlando | 1870 | Probably a sister of "Rollo" built by Earle's for Gothenburg service. | |
| Eldorado | 1873 | '3300' | Built for Wilson's Indian service. |
| Romeo | 1880 | 1,840 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding for Hull-Gothenburg service.Transferred to London-Riga service in about 1904 and operated alongside Bailey & Leetham's "Jaffa" and "Zara" until the outbreak of World War l. Lost following a torpedo attack with all hands in the Mull of Galloway in March 1918. |
| Juno | 1882 | 1,302 | Built by Earle's mainly for Hull-Hamburg service.Sold in 1888 to Tyne Steam Shipping Co.,and joined newly amalgamated Tyne-Tees Steam Shipping Co. in 1904 retaining her name and trading generally to Hamburg. At the outbreak of World War l she was unlucky to be in Hamburg and was detained by the German authorities. She was abandoned by her owners to the North of England P & I Club. After the war ended in 1918 she was returned to the U.K. where she was sold to Portuguese interests and renamed "Afra" followed by "Leca". She was sold again to the U.S.Shipping Board and allocated to James R. Armstrong of Colon being renamed "El Amigo". After 2 further years she was sold on again to Hammond Oil Co., and registered at Tampico,Mexico. Between 1926 and when finally broken up in 1935 she was renamed "Edith F" and "Cecilia" as she changed hands a further three times. |
| Eldorado | 1885 | 935 | Built by Earle's for the Hull to Bergen service and exclusively for passengers. Sold after less than a year in 1886 to the Greek government and renamed "Sfaktirea" and used as a naval auxiliary until returned to commercial service about 20 years later as the "Mykali". Changed hands several times within the Greek shipping industry being renamed "Mykali Togia" before finally being scrapped in Italy after a 49 year career in 1933. |
| Eldorado | 1886 | 1,382/1,425 | Built by Earle's Shipbuildingas a replacement for the earlier vessel of same name on Hull to Stavanger & Bergen route. Undertook occasional cruises during winter off season and in January 1890 her itinerary took her from Hull to Madeira, Nice, Malta, Constantinople and Odessa returning home in early April. Lengthened in 1895. Transferred to Grimsby-Gothenburg route in 1911,and was withdrawn from service to become a cadet training ship and was moored in Hull's Railway Dock very close to Wilson's head office. Found to be unsound in 1913 she was sold for scrapping in Newport in. A new shore based training school known as 'RMS Eldorado' was established in her memory. |
| Juno | 1889 | 1,080 | Built by Earle's mainly for use on Hull-Trondheim route with the "Hero". Sold in 1899 to Bergen Line who employed her on their Hamburg-Kristiansand-Vadso service having renamed her "Hera". In 1910 she was switched to their coastal service from Bergen to Vadso until March 1931 in her 42nd year of service she ran aground and was wrecked in a storm off the Norwegian coast. Six lives were lost but thanks to the extreme gallantry of crewman Einar Ramm, 56 persons were saved. |
| Ariosto | 1889 | 2,376 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding for the Hull-Gothenburg service and was the largest North Sea passenger vessel of her day. "Romeo" was her running mate on the service which carried large numbers of emigrants on what was the first leg of the journey to the New World. The "Romeo" was replaced by the new "Calypso" in 1904. "Ariosto" was withdrawn from Wilson service in 1910 after an uneventful career, she was sold to Spanish owners La Roda Hermanos of Valencia and renamed "Luis Vives". She was lost to a torpedo attack off the Scilly Islands in September 1916. |
| Tasso | 1890 | 1,328 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding for the Trondheim route. Lengthened in 1899 and later switched to Hull-Bergen service. Was badly damaged in a collision in poor visibility with 18,000 ton Hamburg-Amerika liner "President Lincoln" in January 1911 and escorted to Dover by the liner. Following repair she was sold to W.Morphy and Son of Hull and changed hands again before World War l when sold to Greek interests and renamed "Elefsis". Was lost on passage between Corsica and Elba on Christmas Day 1920 by which time she was named "Photios". |
| Montebello | 1890 | 1,735 | Built by Richardson, Duck and Company, at Stockton-on-Tees for the Kristiansand and Oslo service.Became surplus to requirements in 1910 and sold to Spain's Compania Valenciana and renamed "Barcelo" operating between Spanish ports and the Canary Islands. Her owner was absorbed into Compania Transmediterranea in 1917 and she served this company as "Barcelo" until scrapped in 1929. |
| Spero | 1896 | 1,132 | Built by Archibald MacMillan & Co at Dumbarton. Was utilised on various services mainly on emigrant traffic and made numerous calls to Stettin. Prior to World War l worked Hull-Oslo as a supplementary or relief vessel. Was a war loss when sunk by a submarine in November 1916. |
| Zero | 1896 | 1,143 | Near sister of "Spero" although built at Earle's in Hull. Served with "Spero" in emigrant trade until switched to Copenhagen route before the war. Requisitioned as a frozen meat ship but rejected as unsuitable after only a few days. Operated in a 'cargo only' service after the war until 1931 when she was laid up at the end of that year and was broken up at Grangemouth the following year. |
| Salmo | 1897 | 1,721 | Built by Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company in Dundee at a time when Earle's were experiencing considerable difficulties. One of seven vessels built by that yard at the time for the line of which only "Salmo" was for passenger service. Mainly served Bergen and Stavanger until 1911 when she switched to a secondary Grimsby-Kristiansand / Oslo service. Just prior to World War l she moved to a Grimsby-Gothenburg service. In wartime she served in coastal traffic and was torpedoed and lost off Fastnet Rock in April 1917. |
| Una | 1899 | 1,406 | Built by John Scott & Co at Kinghorn for Hull shipowner Bailey & Leetham who had been taken over by Thomas Wilson in 1903. Under Wilson ownership she traded mainly from Hull or Newcastle to Copenhagen in a joint service with DFDS. Sold to Jose Maria Maycas, La Roda Hermanos and others in 1909 and renamed "Vicente La Roda". Her owners became Compania Valenciana who were later absorbed into Compania Transmediterranea in 1917. She was sunk during the Spanish Civil War but later raised and rebuilt in 1945 becoming the "Juan Illueca" for new owners Enrique Illueca. Career continued until June 1960 when this remarkable ship became wrecked on Cape Penas whilst on passage from Bordeaux to Gijon, 61 years after her launching. |
| Calypso | 1904 | 2,876 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding and was largest North Sea passenger vessel of her day. First two-funnelled vessel in owners short sea fleet. Entered Hull-Gothenburg service. Converted by the Admiralty to an armed merchant cruiser in 1914 and was renamed HMS Calyx to avoid confusion with an existing HMS Calypso. Was employed on northern patrols but was found to be too small for the high seas often encountered and was returned to ferry services between London,Kristiansand and Oslo but was torpedoed and sunk in July 1916. |
| Oslo | 1906 | 2,296 | Built by Earle's Shipbuilding and notable for her name as the Norwegian capital only adopted that name in 1927. Entered service to Oslo transferring to the Bergen/Trondheim route in 1910 and continued to trade the Norwegian routes during World War l. Having survived one attack in October 1915 outrunning her assailant she was lost to a torpedo attack off Shetland in August 1917. |
| Aaro | 1909 | 2,603 | Built by Earle's and was the first of the regular Humber ferries to have a W/T aerial fitted between her two very tall masts. Entered Oslo service but switched to the Bergen/Trondheim route in 1911. In January of that year the vessel collided with the Norwegian registered "Richard" (1082 grt) whilst entering the Humber sinking the vessel, but all on board were rescued by the "Aaro" which continued relatively undamaged into Hull. In August 1916 she was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine with the loss of 3 lives and the remainder of the crew were taken captive. This was the third loss the line had suffered within a three-week period and there is little doubt that these losses contributed greatly to the Wilson family's decision to sell out to Ellerman. |
| Eskimo | 1910 | 3,326 | Buily by Earle's for the Oslo service and was quite unlike any other vessel built for the line before her. Achieved an average speed of 17.3 knots on trial thus becoming the line's fastest vessel by a considerable margin. Requisitioned by the Admiralty in November 1914 she was fitted out as an armed merchant cruiser but like the "Calypso" before her was found to be too small for the Atlantic in all weathers and was returned to her owners in July 1915 and resumed her North Sea services. In July 1916 she was captured by a German auxiliary cruiser south of Arendal and became a netlayer under German naval control returning to Ellerman Wilson after the war ended. The company had no further use for her and she was sold to French interests in 1921 trading as a cargo ship under the same name between Southern France and North Africa until 1930 when she was sold for scrap. |
| Bayardo | 1911 | 3,570 | Built by Earle's for the Gothenburg service. Very similar to the Eskimo (1910) in general design but was slightly larger with only one funnel. Her slightly larger size afforded her the title 'The Queen of the Fleet' but her reign was sadly cut short after only seven months when she grounded whilst creeping up a fog shrouded Humber in January 1912. The strength of the tide pushed her partially onto a bank and as the tide fell she broke her back and became a total loss. All on board were rescued, and much of the cargo and expensive fittings were salved. The hulk quickly began to break up and sink in the mud and she was finally blown up being a hazard to navigation. |
| Rollo | 1899 | 3,658 | Acquired in 1920 to replace war losses. Built by Barclay Curle in Glasgow as the "Fantee" for the Elder Dempster Lines managed Africa Steamship Company's West African trade. Sold in 1915 to Ellerman & Papayanni and renamed "Italian" before being transferred to Ellerman's Wilson Line and renamed "Rollo" in 1920. Mainly employed on the Hull-Gothenburg service but later also included Oslo and occasionally Danzig. Changes in U.S. immigration quotas in 1923 reduced the level of carryings in this trade and the vessel was laid up in July 1928 being eventually sold to Danish shipbreakers in 1932. |
| Orlando | 1904 | 4,233 | The second vessel acquired in 1920 to replace war losses. Built in Aberdeen by Hall Russell & Company for the Harrison / John T. Rennie service from the U.K. to Natal. Employed initially in the Hull-Danzig service before transferring to the London / Hull – Gothenburg / Oslo routes. In the winter of 1927/8 she performed a round voyage for Ellerman & Bucknall to South Africa. Withdrawn from service in 1929 she was laid up until sold for breaking up at Briton Ferry by T.W.Ward in July 1932. |
| Calypso | 1897 | 3,817 | The third vessel acquired in 1920 to replace war losses. Built by Sir Raylton Dixon in Middlesbrough and entered service as the "Bruxellesville" between Antwerp and the Congo for the Woermann controlled Soc. Maritime du Congo. In 1901 she was transferred to full Woermann ownership, renamed "Alexandra Woermann" and entered the Hamburg to German West Africa trade. During World War l she served the German Navy as a transport vessel and was surrendered to the U.K. Shipping Controller in March 1919 and placed under White Star Line management. Purchased by Ellerman's Wilson in November 1920 and renamed "Calypso" in memory of the vessel lost during the war. Early in her new career she performed round trips to India but then settled on the Oslo, Gothenburg and Danzig services, and later became a summer only vessel on the Hull-Oslo service laying up in winter at Hull. In 1933 she started a series of cruises out of London to Copenhagen and return via Kristiansand which continued until 1936 when she was withdrawn and sold for scrapping in Bruges by Van Heyghen Freres. The success of her cruises were mirrored by cruises from Hull to Norway by other Ellerman Lines vessels transferred from the group companies. The "City of Canterbury" in 1933, the "City of Paris" in 1934 and 1935 and the "City of Nagpur" from 1936 until 1939. |
| Spero | 1922 | 1,589 | Built by the Dundee Shipbuilding Company at a time when shipbuilding capacity was fully stretched. The vessel was initially used on the Oslo service but entered the long established joint service with DFDS for which she had been built between Hull and Copenhagen alternating with their "Hroar" during 1923. She survived World War ll during which she mainly operated coastal duties and returned to the Copenhagen service in 1946 but was confined to relief duties as she neared the end of her working life. Finally withdrawn and laid up in October 1958, she was sold to breakers in Antwerp the following year. |
| Borodino | 1950 | 3,206 | Built by Ailsa Shipbuilding Company of Troon she was the last conventional passenger/cargo vessel in the Wilson fleet. Entered service from Hull to Copenhagen and Aarhus in the joint service with DFDS and switched in 1965 to the similar service out of London. Mini cruises on the round voyage became very popular but the increasing competition from the faster North Sea ferries gradually reduced her passenger carryings resulting in her being withdrawn at the end of 1966 and eventually sold for scrapping in Bruges in mid 1967 when no buyer for further trading could be found. |
| Spero | 1966 | 6,916 | Built by Cammell Laird at Birkenhead for the Hull-Gothenburg service but spent part of 1966 also serving London. A fine traditional looking car ferry which relatively quickly became dated by the new drive through vessels being introduced by competitors. In 1972 switched to Hull – Zeebrugge and in April 1973 was sold to Maritime Company of Lesvos in Greece and renamed "Sappho" entering service on their Lesvos – Piraeus service in June 1973. The vessel changed hands becoming the "Santorini 3" and finally the "Santorini" before being sold for scrapping at Alang, India arriving there in January 2004. |
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