SEAGULL was built in 1883 with a tonnage
of 24grt. She was the mooring and dispatch launch at Southampton
and attended the arrival and departure of each ship carrying
the mooring ropes to the quay as well as providing a ship to
shore service when the ships anchored off Northam. In 1898 she
was sold locally for use as a harbour ferry and, thereafter,
all trace of her were lost.
AFRICAN (2) was built in 1886 by R Dixon
& Co. at Middlesbrough with a tonnage of 1372grt, a length
of 244ft 2in, a beam of 33ft 4in and a service speed of 10 knots.
She was built for the South African coastal trade and had a
shallow draft in order to negotiate the sand bars which were
dangerous before dredging operations were undertaken and protective
moles constructed. In some cases the ports of calls lack quays.
In 1893 she was sold to F.H. Powell & Co. at Liverpool and
renamed Graceful as all his ships names ended with 'ful'. Powell's
eventually became part of Coast Lines which adopted his funnel
markings, black with white 'V' band. In 1906 she was sold to
Fred Olsen's for their Newcastle - Christiania service and renamed
Sovereign and in 1912 became the Zeta under the ownership of
the Bergen S.S. Co. when she was modified and emerged with vertical
masts and funnel. She was eventually scrapped in 1931.
SAXON (3) was built in 1887 by Oswald
Mordaunt & Co. at Southampton with a tonnage of 469grt,
a length of 145ft 8in, a beam of 24ft 8in and a service speed
of 9 knots. She was delivered in December 1887 for the South
African coastal service where she remained until 1895 when she
was sold to Portuguese owners. In January 1896, during the delivery
voyage, she was wrecked on the coast of Zululand and, consequently,
never saw service with her new owners out of Lourenço
Marques.
DANE (3) was built in 1870 by Caird
& Co. at Greenock with a tonnage of 3664grt, a length of
381ft 10in, a beam of 44ft 7in and a service speed of 11 knots.
Laid down as the Mirzapore in 1869 she was completed in the
following year as the Australia for P&O. Heavily built and
the last with a clipper bow, she was referred to as ' the P&O
ironclad'. She became the first P&O ship to transit the
Suez Canal ,which had opened in November 1869, during her maiden
voyage to China. During an outward bound voyage in 1879 her
propeller shaft snapped and she had to be towed back to Southampton
by the tug Trusty and HMS Valorous. In 1880 she was transferred
to the Australia run and in 1888 broke the Sydney to UK record
by completing the voyage in 27 days 16 hours. She was purchased
at auction by the Union Steam Ship Co. in 1889 for £14,831
and renamed Dane for deployment on the Intermediate service
but she proved to be too heavy and too slow. In 1893 she was
laid up in the Thames and eventually broken up there.
MIDGE was built at Southampton in 1889
with a tonnage of 64grt. She was then dismantled and taken to
the Cape and reassembled at East London for harbour duties.
Transferred to Union-Castle in 1900 she was replaced by the
Stork in 1905 and sold to African Fisheries Ltd in 1906.
NORSEMAN (2) was built in 1890 by Day,
Summers & Co. at Northam, Southampton with a tonnage of
3664grt, a length of 236ft 2in, a beam of 31ft 2in and a service
speed of 10 knots. The Union's first steel hulled vessel, she
was completed in July 1890 for the South African coastal service.
In 1893 she was sold to W. Bailey of Hull without a change of
name. She was sold to L. Ballande, Fils & Cie of Noumea
for their New Caledonia - Australia service in 1895 and renamed
St. Antoine. On 26th May 1928 she was wrecked on a shoal 30
miles southwest of Noumea.
ROMAN was built in 1870 by Day, Summers
& Co. at Northam, Southampton with a tonnage of 2994grt,
a length of 369ft 6in, a beam of 40ft 4in and a service speed
of 13 knots. She was built to Norddeutscher Lloyd's specifications,
for whom her sister the Neva had been ordered, as the Nile for
the Royal Mail Steam Packets Co's West Indies service. Purchased
by the Union Steam Ship Co. in 1890 for the Intermediate service
she proved to be too old, too heavy and too hot and after a
couple of voyages was placed on the Hamburg - Antwerp - Southampton
feeder service. She also proved to be too large for this service
and, although it was the intention to retain her until the arrival
of the new 'G' class ships, after only two years with the company
was broken up.
TYRIAN was built in 1890 by Day, Summers
& Co. at Northam, Southampton with a tonnage of 1455grt,
a length of 260ft 2in, a beam of 33ft 1in and a service speed
of 11 knots. Completed in May 1890 she inaugurated to coastal
passenger service and was suitably fitted out to accommodate
the passengers transferring from the mail steamers. She was
sold to Howard, Smith & Co. of Melbourne in 1894 and 1914
became the Kiodo Maru No.16 when she was sold on to Kiodo Kisen
Goshi Kaisya of Darien. The name was later spelt as Kyodo. On
14th November 1938 she caught fire off Tsingtao and was subsequently
beached and broken up there.
SCOT
was built in 1891 by Wm Denny & Bros at Dumbarton with a
tonnage of 6844grt, a length of 500ft, a beam of 54ft 7in and
a service speed of 18.5 knots. The first twin screw liner on
the Cape run she cost £254,000 to build and was launched
on 30th December 1890 by Miss Giles, the Chairman's daughter.
Her figurehead was of Sir William Wallace, a Scottish hero,
and her stern was decorated with Royal Arms of Great Britain
and the Lion of Scotland. During her trials on 8th May 1891
she achieved a speed of 19.62 knots over the measured mile in
Stokes Bay. Her maiden voyage from Southampton to Cape Town
via Madeira was completed in the record time of 15 days 9 hrs
52 mins and this was reduced, in 1893, to 14 days 18 hrs 57
mins, a record which was to stand for 43 years until surpassed
in 1936 by the Stirling Castle. However, fuel consumption was
high and at the April 1893 AGM the Chairman reported that the
ship had incurred a loss of £5,000. By now she had a white
hull and was referred to as Union's 'White Elephant'. In December
1895 she had to put into Vigo with engine problems and after
transferring her passengers to other ships returned to Southampton.
During her repairs at Harland & Wolff's yard attempts were
made to increase her payload by lengthening her by 54 feet but
this proved to be unsuccessful. In 1897 the millionaire Barney
Barnato committed suicide by jumping overboard during the night.
She was used as a troopship during the Boer War and during this
time was transferred to the Union-Castle fleet following the
merger in 1900. She was given the new red and black funnel but
retained her white hull. In 1901, together with the Dunvegan
Castle, she hosted the members of both Houses of Parliament
at King Edward V11's Coronation Spithead review. On 12th September
1903 she berthed at Southampton for the last time, to be replaced
by the Armadale Castle ,and was laid up at Netley until September
1905 when she was sold to the Hamburg America Line and renamed
Oceana. In 1907 she was transferred to cruising following loss
of the Prinzessin Viktoria Luise and was converted by Harland
& Wolff for such deployment. She was sold to Bermuda-North
Atlantic S.S. Co of Toronto for £40,000 in November 1910
for cruising between New York and Bermuda but still proved expensive
to operate. In 1912 she became the property of Morse Dry Dock
Co. after being arrested in New York for outstanding debts and
was laid up in the River Hudson. She returned to service in
1914 to provide cruises for Americans who could no longer visit
Europe but, although backed by her owners and other US capital,
the venture only lasted three months. In February 1915 she was
purchased by Cia Trasatlantica of Cadiz to replace the Alphonso
X111 (1) which had sunk at Santander under mysterious circumstances.
Renamed Alphonso X111 (2) she was deployed on the New York-Cadiz,
and later, Bilbao service to carry Europeans wishing to travel
to the US on a neutral vessel. She was renamed Vasco Nunez de
Balboa when a new Alphonso X111 (3) was built in 1923 and continued
on the New York route until later transferred to the Cadiz-Havana
run. She was laid up at Cadiz in 1925 and finally sold in February
1927 to Italian shipbreakers. (Photo Union-Castle Line)
NATAL was built in 1892 by Wm Denny & Bros at Dumbarton
with a tonnage of 158grt, a length of 110ft, a beam of 23ft
6in and a service speed of 10 knots. Built at a cost of £9288
she was launched on 21st April 1892 as a tug and tender at Durban.
She was designed to carry disembarking passengers and their
baggage over the bar at Durban with steerage accommodated forward
and the remainder aft where there was a bar and the ladies had
a saloon. Following the merger she was transferred to Union-Castle
where she remained until 1913 when she was sold to Cape Town
Steamers, with W. Gowan & Co. as managers, for use as a
pleasure steamer in Table Bay and was renamed Sir Fred. She
was renamed Natal by her owners in 1915 and was wrecked in May
1916.
GAUL was built in 1893 by Harland &
Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 4745grt, a length of 400ft
6in, a beam of 47ft 2in and a service speed of 11.5 knots. She
was completed for the Intermediate service in May 1893 and operated
the Southampton - Cape Town- Port Elizabeth undertaking the
first leg to Cape Town in 21 days. One of four similar vessels
their design was based on recommendations made by William Pirrie
following a voyage to South Africa. They were given shallow
draughts for the ports beyond Cape Town, were comfortable, good
cargo carriers and, although on the slow side, were successful.
Initially the quartet were give black hulls. Transferred to
Union-Castle on its formation in 1900 she was sold to the Royal
Mail Steam Packet Co. for their Southampton to Cuba and Mexico
service in 1906 and renamed Sabor. In 1908 the service was transferred
to Jenkin's Shire Line, when she was renamed Carmarthenshire,
given a red funnel with black top and operated on the London-Far
East service. She reverted back to Royal Mail for their Montreal
- Quebec - West Indies - Georgetown, Demerara service in 1913,
when the route was acquired from Pickford & Black ,and was
renamed Chaleur. When, in 1927, the Canada - West Indies mail
contract was awarded to Canadian National Steamships she was
withdrawn, sold for £9000 and broken up in Holland.
GOTH
was built in 1893 by Harland & Wolff with a tonnage of 4738grt,
a length of 400ft 5in, a beam of 47ft 2in and a service speed
of 11.5 knots. Sister of the Gaul she was deployed on the Intermediate
service. Transferred to Union-Castle on the merger in 1900 she
was then used as a Boer War troopship until 1902 when she returned
to commercial service. In October 1910 she joined Guelph on
the Round Africa service and in 1913 was sold to Royal Mail
S.P. Co. after being replaced by the Carisbrooke Castle. As
the Cobequid she was given a black hull and operated on the
Canada - Bermuda - West Indies route. On 13th January 1915 she
was wrecked on the Trinity Ledge in the Bay of Fundy without
loss of life whilst inbound on her first voyage to St. John,
N.B. A Painting by the captain (J.Sandilands Collection)
GREEK was built in 1893 by Harland &
Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 4757grt, a length of 400ft
6in, a beam of 47ft 2in and a service speed of 11.5 knots. Sister
of the Gaul and Goth she was built for the Intermediate service
and launched on the 17th May 1893. She transferred to Union-Castle
in 1900, undertook some trooping duties during the Boer War
and then reverted back to her Intermediate sailings. Sold to
Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. in 1906 she was renamed Segura and
operated on their Southampton - Cuba - Mexico route. In 1908
she was transferred to Jenkin's Shire Line and deployed on their
London - Far East service as the Pembrokeshire. She was renamed
Chignecto by Royal Mail in May 1913 and inaugurated their Montreal
- Quebec - West Indies service. On 13th January 1915, during
her first voyage and bound for St. John, New Brunswick, she
was wrecked on Trinity Ledge in the Bay of Fundy without loss
of life. She was replaced on the run by Elder Dempster's Mandingo
which was renamed Chaudiere.
GUELPH
was built in 1894 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage
of 4917grt, a length of 400ft 5in, a beam of 47ft 2in and a
service speed of 11.5 knots. She entered service in October
1894 on the Southampton-Tenerife-Cape Town-Durban Intermediate
service. On 8th March, 1900 she was transferred to Union-Castle
following the merger and was initally used as a Boer War troopship.
On 27th July 1909, whilst sailing in heavy seas off Hood's Point,
South Africa, she spotted the lights of a large vessel. She
communicated by lamp but only the last two letters of the morse
code response were understood; the letters being AH. About the
same time the Waratah was lost without a trace. On 13th September
1910 she was deployed on the London-Suez-East Africa route as
competition for the Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie. In 1913 she was
replaced by the Dunvegan Castle and subsequently sold to Royal
Mail S.P. Co. for their new Canada-West Indies-British Guiana
passenger/cargo service and renamed Caraquet. She ended her
life on 25th June 1923 when she was wrecked near Hamilton, Bermuda.
(Photo: from UCPSC 03/33)
NORMAN
(2) was built in 1894 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with
a tonnage of 7537grt, a length of 507ft, a beam of 53ft 2in
and a service speed of 17.5 knots. She was the first of many
ships built by Harland & Wolff for Union-Castle and, at
the time, the largest ship on the Cape Town mail run. She was
built to Admiralty troopship specifications and was requisition
for use during the Boer War in November 1899. In 1900 she was
transferred to Union-Castle following the merge whilst still
on troopship duties. She was refitted in 1904 and subsequently
worked as a mail ship until 1910 when, after being replaced
by the Balmoral Castle, she was laid up at Netley in Southampton
Water. At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 she was
recommissioned as a troopship for a short while before reverting
to the mail run. During this time she was part of the first
convoy to take men of the British Expeditionary Force to France.
1918 saw her on troopship duties again, this time in the Mediterranean..
In May 1919 she was chartered to P&O for one voyage to Australia
before returning to the mail run. She was replaced by the Arundel
Castle in 1921 and transferred to the intermediate service and
in 1923 she was deployed on the Round Africa service, out via
Suez and home via the Cape. In 1925 she was replaced by the
Llandovery Castle on the Round Africa service, laid up in the
River Blackwater off Tollesbury and broken up in 1926. (Photo:
from UCPSC 07/45)
SCOT
was built in 1891 by Wm Denny & Bros at Dumbarton with a
tonnage of 6844grt, a length of 500ft, a beam of 54ft 7in and
a service speed of 18.5 knots. The first twin screw liner on
the Cape run she cost £254,000 to build and was launched
on 30th December 1890 by Miss Giles, the Chairman's daughter.
Her figurehead was of Sir William Wallace, a Scottish hero,
and her stern was decorated with Royal Arms of Great Britain
and the Lion of Scotland. During her trials on 8th May 1891
she achieved a speed of 19.62 knots over the measured mile in
Stokes Bay. Her maiden voyage from Southampton to Cape Town
via Madeira was completed in the record time of 15 days 9 hrs
52 mins and this was reduced, in 1893, to 14 days 18 hrs 57
mins, a record which was to stand for 43 years until surpassed
in 1936 by the Stirling Castle. However, fuel consumption was
high and at the April 1893 AGM the Chairman reported that the
ship had incurred a loss of £5,000. By now she had a white
hull and was referred to as Union's 'White Elephant'. In December
1895 she had to put into Vigo with engine problems and after
transferring her passengers to other ships returned to Southampton.
During her repairs at Harland & Wolff's yard attempts were
made to increase her payload by lengthening her by 54 feet but
this proved to be unsuccessful. In 1897 the millionaire Barney
Barnato committed suicide by jumping overboard during the night.
She was used as a troopship during the Boer War and during this
time was transferred to the Union-Castle fleet following the
merger in 1900. She was given the new red and black funnel but
retained her white hull. In 1901, together with the Dunvegan
Castle, she hosted the members of both Houses of Parliament
at King Edward V11's Coronation Spithead review. On 12th September
1903 she berthed at Southampton for the last time, to be replaced
by the Armadale Castle ,and was laid up at Netley until September
1905 when she was sold to the Hamburg America Line and renamed
Oceana. In 1907 she was transferred to cruising following loss
of the Prinzessin Viktoria Luise and was converted by Harland
& Wolff for such deployment. She was sold to Bermuda-North
Atlantic S.S. Co of Toronto for £40,000 in November 1910
for cruising between New York and Bermuda but still proved expensive
to operate. In 1912 she became the property of Morse Dry Dock
Co. after being arrested in New York for outstanding debts and
was laid up in the River Hudson. She returned to service in
1914 to provide cruises for Americans who could no longer visit
Europe but, although backed by her owners and other US capital,
the venture only lasted three months. In February 1915 she was
purchased by Cia Trasatlantica of Cadiz to replace the Alphonso
X111 (1) which had sunk at Santander under mysterious circumstances.
Renamed Alphonso X111 (2) she was deployed on the New York-Cadiz,
and later, Bilbao service to carry Europeans wishing to travel
to the US on a neutral vessel. She was renamed Vasco Nunez de
Balboa when a new Alphonso X111 (3) was built in 1923 and continued
on the New York route until later transferred to the Cadiz-Havana
run. She was laid up at Cadiz in 1925 and finally sold in February
1927 to Italian shipbreakers. (Photo Union-Castle Line) 
GOTH
was built in 1893 by Harland & Wolff with a tonnage of 4738grt,
a length of 400ft 5in, a beam of 47ft 2in and a service speed
of 11.5 knots. Sister of the Gaul she was deployed on the Intermediate
service. Transferred to Union-Castle on the merger in 1900 she
was then used as a Boer War troopship until 1902 when she returned
to commercial service. In October 1910 she joined Guelph on
the Round Africa service and in 1913 was sold to Royal Mail
S.P. Co. after being replaced by the Carisbrooke Castle. As
the Cobequid she was given a black hull and operated on the
Canada - Bermuda - West Indies route. On 13th January 1915 she
was wrecked on the Trinity Ledge in the Bay of Fundy without
loss of life whilst inbound on her first voyage to St. John,
N.B. A Painting by the captain (J.Sandilands Collection) 
GUELPH
was built in 1894 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage
of 4917grt, a length of 400ft 5in, a beam of 47ft 2in and a
service speed of 11.5 knots. She entered service in October
1894 on the Southampton-Tenerife-Cape Town-Durban Intermediate
service. On 8th March, 1900 she was transferred to Union-Castle
following the merger and was initally used as a Boer War troopship.
On 27th July 1909, whilst sailing in heavy seas off Hood's Point,
South Africa, she spotted the lights of a large vessel. She
communicated by lamp but only the last two letters of the morse
code response were understood; the letters being AH. About the
same time the Waratah was lost without a trace. On 13th September
1910 she was deployed on the London-Suez-East Africa route as
competition for the Deutsche Ost-Afrika Linie. In 1913 she was
replaced by the Dunvegan Castle and subsequently sold to Royal
Mail S.P. Co. for their new Canada-West Indies-British Guiana
passenger/cargo service and renamed Caraquet. She ended her
life on 25th June 1923 when she was wrecked near Hamilton, Bermuda.
(Photo: from UCPSC 03/33) 
NORMAN
(2) was built in 1894 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with
a tonnage of 7537grt, a length of 507ft, a beam of 53ft 2in
and a service speed of 17.5 knots. She was the first of many
ships built by Harland & Wolff for Union-Castle and, at
the time, the largest ship on the Cape Town mail run. She was
built to Admiralty troopship specifications and was requisition
for use during the Boer War in November 1899. In 1900 she was
transferred to Union-Castle following the merge whilst still
on troopship duties. She was refitted in 1904 and subsequently
worked as a mail ship until 1910 when, after being replaced
by the Balmoral Castle, she was laid up at Netley in Southampton
Water. At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914 she was
recommissioned as a troopship for a short while before reverting
to the mail run. During this time she was part of the first
convoy to take men of the British Expeditionary Force to France.
1918 saw her on troopship duties again, this time in the Mediterranean..
In May 1919 she was chartered to P&O for one voyage to Australia
before returning to the mail run. She was replaced by the Arundel
Castle in 1921 and transferred to the intermediate service and
in 1923 she was deployed on the Round Africa service, out via
Suez and home via the Cape. In 1925 she was replaced by the
Llandovery Castle on the Round Africa service, laid up in the
River Blackwater off Tollesbury and broken up in 1926. (Photo:
from UCPSC 07/45) 
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