GLAMORGANSHIRE (4) was built in 1900 by Gourlay Bros. &
Co. at Dundee with a tonnage of 5659grt, a length of 445ft,
a beam of 50ft 2in and a service speed of 11 knots. Sister
of the Breckonshire she was completed as the Marwarri for
T & J Brocklebank and transferred to Shire Line in 1906
and renamed Glamorganshire. In 1911 she was transferred back
to T & J Brocklebank with her former name and chartered
briefly by Royal Mail, after the joint arrangement between
the two companies ended, until 1912 when she reverted back
to her Indian operations. She was sold to Ravano & Corrado
of Genoa as the Sant' Andrea and was broken up in Italy in
1925.
MONTGOMERYSHIRE (2) was built
in 1901 by Gourlay Bros. & Co. at Dundee with a tonnage
of 5665grt, a length of 445ft, a beam of 50ft 2in and a service
speed of 11 knots. Sistership of the Glamorganshire she was
delivered to T & J Brocklebank as the Bengali and transferred
to Shire Line in 1906. In July 1911 she was chartered to Royal
Mail for service in the Far East but reverted to Brocklebank's
and Bengali in 1912. On 13th September 1917 she was torpedoed
115 miles north of Derna in North Africa and four days later
was beached, patched up and managed to reach Alexandria where
she was repaired. On 8th April 1918 during her second voyage
after being repaired and bound for Calcutta in ballast she
was torpedoed and sunk by UC-34 14 miles off Alexandria.
CARMARTHENSHIRE (3) was built
in 1893 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of
4745grt, a length of 400ft 5in, a beam of 47ft 2in and a service
speed of 11 knots. She was launched as the Gaul for the Union
Steam Ship Company's Intermediate service Southampton-Cape
Town-Port Elizabeth. On 8th March 1900 she was transferred
to Union Castle Mail Steamship Co. when the Union and Castle
Lines merged and in 1906 was sold to Royal Mail for their
Southampton - Cuba - Mexico route and renamed Sabor. In 1908
the service was transferred to Shire Line and the ship was
renamed Carmarthenshire and operated in the Far East for a
short time in 1910. She was transferred to Royal Mail to operate
on their Montreal-Quebec-West Indies-Georgetown, Demerara
route in 1913 and renamed Chaleur. When the West Indies contract
was awarded to Canadian National Steamships in 1927 she was
sold for £8000 and scrapped in Holland.
PEMBROKESHIRE (4) was built
in 1893 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of
4757grt, a length of 400ft 5in, a beam of 47ft 2in and a service
speed of 11 knots. Sister of the Carmarthenshire she was launched
as the Greek for the Union Steam Ship Company's Intermediate
service Southampton-Cape Town-Port Elizabeth. On 8th March
1900 she was transferred to Union Castle Mail Steamship Co.
and operated as a troopship with a white hull and yellow funnel
during the Boer War before deployment on the Intermediate
service. In 1906 she was sold to Royal Mail, renamed Segura,
and operated on their Mexico route. She was transferred to
Shire Line for their Far East service in 1908 and renamed
Pembrokeshire. In 1913 she was transferred to Royal Mail to
inaugurate their Montreal-Quebec-West Indies service and renamed
Chignecto. When the West Indies contract was awarded to Canadian
National Steamships in 1927 she was sold for £9000 and
scrapped in Holland.
RADNORSHIRE (3) was built in
1913 by Bartram & Sons at Sunderland with a tonnage of
4310grt, a length of 385ft, a beam of 52ft and a service speed
of 10 knots. She was launched as the Salopian for John Mathias
& Sons of Aberystwyth's Cambrian Steam Navigation Co.
but was purchased by Royal Mail to replace ships returned
to Brocklebank's in 1910-11and named Radnorshire under the
Shire Line houseflag. On 7th January enroute from Santos-London
she was captured by the German Hilfskreuzer Möwe in the
South Atlantic 110 miles north of Pernambuco. Her crew were
taken aboard the Möwe and the ship was sunk by bombs
on the following day. Merchant seamen held on the Möwe
were subsequently transferred to the Japanese Hudson Maru
and taken to Pernambuco.
MERIONETHSHIRE (3) was built
in 1913 by Bartram & Sons at Sunderland with a tonnage
of 4308grt, a length of 385ft, a beam of 52ft and a service
speed of 10 knots. She was launched as the Reptonian for John
Mathias & Sons of Aberystwyth's Cambrian Steam Navigation
Co. but was purchased by Royal Mail to replace ships returned
to Brocklebank's in 1910-11and named Merionethshire under
the Shire Line houseflag. On 27th May 1918 during a voyage
from London to Rio de Janeiro she was torpedoed and sunk by
U-62 150 miles north of Flores in the Azores. Survivors were
picked up by the Spanish schooner Luna the following day and
landed in the Azores.
CARDIGANSHIRE (5) was built
in 1913 by Workman, Clark & Co. at Belfast with a tonnage
of 9426grt, a length of 520ft, a beam of 62ft 5in and a service
speed of 14 knots. She was launched for Royal Mail but allocated
to Shire for the Far East run and was the largest and fastest
ship on that route. In September 1914 she was used to ferry
units of the British Expeditionary Forces across the Channel
and in February 1915 was taken over by the Admiralty for a
voyage to Zeebruge with troops and war supplies. As the ship
approached Zeebruge the Belgian pilot ordered full speed ahead
and steered her into the mole causing damage to the bow. The
pilot was subsequently arrested, investigated and shot for
sabotage. In April 1915 she participated in the Dardenelles
campaign. She was chased by a submarine in the Mediterranean
on 14th January 1917 and later that year crossed the Atlantic
and brought US troops to Britain. In May 1929 she was sold
to Christian Salvesen's South Georgia Co. and converted into
a whale factory ship with a stern ramp and the name Salvestria.
On 27th July 1940 whilst approaching Rosyth she activated
an acoustic mine and sank 2.5 miles off Inchkeith Light in
the Firth of Forth.
CARMARTHENSHIRE (4) was built
in 1914 by Workman, Clark & Co. at Belfast with a tonnage
of 7823grt, a length of 470ft, a beam of 58ft 3in and a service
speed of 12 knots. She was launched for Royal Mail and was
the company's first quadruple expansion engined ship. She
was allocated to Shire Line but was painted in the Royal Mail
colours and commenced operations on the River Plate route.
On 8th April 1917 she was attacked by U-55 200 miles southwest
of Land's End. She was only defensively armed with a gun that
could only fire through an arc over the stern. However, for
two hour she replied shot for shot until the heavy seas caused
the submarine to disengage, moments before Carmarthenshire's
ammunition ran out. In March of the same year she was taken
over by the Liner Requisition Scheme. In May 1929 she was
sold to Christian Salvesen's South Georgia Co. and converted
into a whale factory ship with a stern ramp and the name Sourabaya,
a virtually the sister of the Salvestria. On 27th October
1940 during a voyage from New York to Glasgow she was torpedoed
and sunk by U-436.
PEMBROKESHIRE
(5) was built in 1914 by Workman, Clark & Co. at Belfast
with a tonnage of 7821grt, a length of 470ft 2in, a beam of
58ft 3in and a service speed of 12 knots. Sister of the Carmarthenshire
she was launched for Shire Line but under Royal Mail ownership
and operated on the River Plate service. On 16th November
1915 she grounded near Las Palmas in Grand Canaria but was
safely refloated. She was taken over under the Liner Requisition
Scheme in April 1917 and continued the 'meat run' under government
direction. In 1935 she was sold to Thomas Dunlop & Sons
of Glasgow, with the same name, under the 'Scrap and Build'
scheme of the British Shipping (Assistance) Act. Dunlop's
acquired 17 old ships, to set against five new buildings,
which equated to a loan of £450,000. Pembrokeshire was
assessed to be worth £19,750, applied to the building
of the Queen Victoria.and sold as scrap for £14,400.
(Photo for the Iain Lovie Collection)
BRECKNOCKSHIRE was built in
1916 by Harland & Wolff at Belfast with a tonnage of 8422grt,
a length of 480ft, a beam of 59ft 3in and a service speed
of 12 knots. The keel was actually laid on 9th February 1914
but construction was delayed for a year and she wasn't launched
until 12th September 1916 for Shire Line. She commenced operations
on 11th January 1917 on the River Plate service and on 15th
February, during her maiden voyage with a cargo of coal, was
captured by the German Hilfskreuzer Möwe in the South
Atlantic. The 90 crew members were taken off and the ship
sunk with bombs placed inside the hull. The crew were eventually
taken back to Germany and interred as POW's.
GLAMORGANSHIRE (5) was built
in 1918 by Asano Shipbuilding Co. at Tsurumi in Japan with
a tonnage of 8192grt, a length of 445ft, a beam of 58ft and
a service speed of 11 knots. She was built as the War Armour
for the Shipping Controller, one of twenty standard 'A' Type
constructed in Japan. She was acquired by by Royal Mail for
Shire Line in 1919 and renamed Glamorganshire. She was broken
up at Hendrik-ido-Ambacht near Amsterdam in Holland in 1933.
RADNORSHIRE (4) was built in
1919 by J.L. Thompson & Sons at Sunderland with a tonnage
of 6723grt, a length of 411ft 7in, a beam of 55ft 7in and
a service speed of 12 knots. She was laid down as the War
Diamond for the Shipping Controller as a standard 'F' type
and purchased by Royal Mail on the stocks and launched as
Radnorshire for Shire Line. During 1920-21 she operated on
Royal Mail's Galveston cotton run and in May 1925 was laid
up at Netley in Southampton Water. She was sold to H.M. Thompson
of London in 1930 and renamed Sithonia. On 13th July 1942
while part of Convoy OS.33 and sailing from Barry Docks, South
Wales to Montevideo she was torpedoed and sunk by U-201 northwest
of the Canary Islands. The Convoy was attacked by U-201, U-116
and U-582 and seven ships in all were lost.
MONTGOMERYSHIRE (3) was built
in 1921 by Armstrong, Whitworth & Co. Ltd. with a tonnage
of 6650grt, a length of 412ft 5in, a beam of 55ft 8in and
a service speed of 10.5 knots. One of the 'N' prefabricated
class she was ordered as the War Valour for the Shipping Controller
but completed for Royal Mail to the Shire Line specification.
She entered service for Shire Line in April 1921 on the Galveston
cotton run. During 1922-23 she undertook voyages for the British
Government to the Eastern Mediterranean during the Greek-Turkish
crisis when British troops intervened. She came off charter
in August 1923 and remained with the company until 1931 when
she was sold to Societe Commerciale di Nav. of Genoa and renamed
Riv. On 6th April 1941 she was bombed in the Mediterranean
but managed to reach Tripoli where, on 30th August, she was
bombed and sunk by Allied aircraft.
Thirteen further vessels
carried the suffix 'shire' but after Shire Line was absorbed
by Glen Line. The histories of these ships can be found within
the Glen Line pages
PEMBROKESHIRE
(5) was built in 1914 by Workman, Clark & Co. at Belfast
with a tonnage of 7821grt, a length of 470ft 2in, a beam of
58ft 3in and a service speed of 12 knots. Sister of the Carmarthenshire
she was launched for Shire Line but under Royal Mail ownership
and operated on the River Plate service. On 16th November
1915 she grounded near Las Palmas in Grand Canaria but was
safely refloated. She was taken over under the Liner Requisition
Scheme in April 1917 and continued the 'meat run' under government
direction. In 1935 she was sold to Thomas Dunlop & Sons
of Glasgow, with the same name, under the 'Scrap and Build'
scheme of the British Shipping (Assistance) Act. Dunlop's
acquired 17 old ships, to set against five new buildings,
which equated to a loan of £450,000. Pembrokeshire was
assessed to be worth £19,750, applied to the building
of the Queen Victoria.and sold as scrap for £14,400.
(Photo for the Iain Lovie Collection) 
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