Ben-My-Chree (Manx language meaning “Girl of my Heart”) was a packet turbine steamer between Liverpool and Douglas on the Isle of Man. She was built by Vickers in 1907, She was 390 feet long, with five decks, and could carry 2,549 passengers, entering service in August 1908.

She was chartered by the Royal Navy in January 1915, and was sent to Cammell Laird at Birkenhead where she was converted into a seaplane carrier. A large hangar was built aft, that could house between four and six seaplanes. Derricks were used to lift the aircraft in and out of the water. Initially there was a 60-foot dismountable take-off platform installed forward of the superstructure but this was soon removed..

Once converted, she was initially assigned to the Harwich force, and took part in two abortive raids on Norddeich. Following this, she sailed for the Dardanelles, with two Short 184 torpedo bombers. She was at Lesbos by June 1915. Over the following months the seaplanes were mainly used as spotters for the naval artillery supporting the troops ashore, and also the occasional torpedo attack.

On 20th December 1916 Ben-My-Chree was sent to the Greek island of Kastellorizo to support French troops fighting the Turks. The Turkish battery opened fire on the steamer, disabling her steering and starting a fire that quickly spread. The crew abandoned ship, and the Turks continued firing until the steamer sank in fairly shallow water. The wreck was refloated in 1920 and towed to Piraeus. After survey it was declared a constructive total loss and was eventually broken up in Venice in 1923.

In 1881 two new ships were ordered from Harland & Wolff: these were to be Ionic and Doric, designed and built for the immi­grant service to New Zealand. Ionic (yard number 152) was launched on 10th January 1883, as a 4-masted barque-rigged freighter, with accommodation for 70 passengers, and the first engines built by Harland & Wolff for White Star, as four-cylinder compounds.

On completion, J. Bruce Ismay joined Ionic at Belfast on 26th March 1883, and sailed to London, arriving on 1st April. Ionic was inspected by the Prince of Wales at London’s Royal Albert Dock, on 23rd April. Ionic left London on 26th April 1883, on charter to New Zealand Shipping, for her maiden voyage to Well­ing­ton. She arrived on 11th June, in a record 43 days 6 hours from Plymouth, and returned via Cape Horn, Montevideo, Rio and Plymouth.

After more than 18 months on charter, Ionic left London on 4th December 1884 on her first voyage in the White Star/Shaw, Savill & Albion joint service to New Zealand. She arrived at Wellington on 20th January 1885 and began her return trip on 15th February. On 21st February 1885 Ionic encountered ice; the next day she would pass an iceberg estimated at 430 feet high. She arrived at London’s Royal Albert Dock on 1st April.

On 4th May 1889 while sailing for London, Ionic broke her crankshaft and was left with sails only. She headed back to Lyttelton, around 900 miles, arriving on 13th May. Interim repairs were completed and by 8th May one engine had been repaired. The crankshaft was replaced with a spare on board and she left on 30th May, arriving at Plymouth on 11th July.

On 8th February 1893, about 850 miles short of Cape Town, Ionic broke her tail shaft and nearly lost her pro­peller. Deploying sails, the captain headed toward Cape Town. Three days later, Castle Line’s Hawarden Castle agreed to tow her to Table Bay, arriving on 25th February. Following repairs, in April Ionic resumed her voyage to New Zealand. After an extensive refit in Belfast in 1894, including new four-cylinder quad­ruple-expansion engines and boilers, and with upgraded refrigerating machinery, Ionic returned to the White Star/SSA joint service. By now only the fore­mast was still square rigged, and the accommodation had been refurbished.

In 1900, she was sold to G. Thompson & Co. (Aberdeen Line) for £47,000 and was renamed Sophocles, making her first voyage on 23rd October. She made her final sailing for Aberdeen Line on 21st August 1906, and was then laid up. Finally on 4th April 1908 Sophocles was broken up by Thomas W. Ward at Morecambe in Lancashire.

Initially ordered by Bibby Line, White Star’s Gaelic was purchased while on the stocks. Launched on 21st September 1872, she was equipped with a compound two-cylinder engine and was also barque-rigged. Primarily a cargo vessel, she could accommodate 40 in First Class. Gaelic was handed over to White Star on 7th January 1873. Her sister, Belgic, was also purchased on the stocks at Belfast.

Gaelic left Liverpool on her maiden voyage on 29th January 1873, bound for Valparaiso, Chile, with calls at Pauillac, Vigo and Lisbon to embark passengers and cargo. She made the first of eight north Atlantic crossings on 10th July 1873 from Liverpool, and arrived in New York on 22nd July. In 1874 Gaelic was switched from Liverpool to London and made the first of four round-trip sailings on 3rd June. She later reverted to the Liverpool route.

Her final north Atlantic voyage was from Liverpool to New York on 11th February 1875. She left Liverpool on 29th May 1875 to join the White Star/Occi­dental & Oriental S.S. Co. joint service on a five-year charter, and reached Hong Kong on 9th July. Gaelic made her final departure from San Francisco on 6th March 1883 on the trans-Pacific service. From Hong Kong, she headed back to England via the Suez Canal. Once at London, she was sold for £30,000 to Cia. de Nav. La Flecha, of Bilbao, and renamed Hugo. On 24th September 1896 Hugo (ex-Gaelic) stranded on Terschelling Island, off the Dutch coast. After inspection she was declared a con­structive total loss. She was later refloated, then sold at auction on 9th December and scrapped at Amsterdam.

Thomas H. Ismay was born on 7th January 1837 at Maryport in Cum­­ber­land, where his father, Joseph, was a successful local ship­builder. He attended the local school until 12, then Croft House, a boarding school near Carlisle. He entered a three-year apprenticeship with Imrie, Tomlinson in Liverpool: another apprentice was William Imrie, and they quickly formed a close friendship. At the end of his apprenticeship, in 1856 he signed up to sail on the barque Charles Jackson, heading for Val­pa­raiso, Chile via Cape Horn; he returned in October. T.H. Ismay went back to working with Imrie Tomlinson, where he met Philip Nelson, a  ship-owner.

In 1858, when T.H. Ismay reached 21, he and Philip Nelson set up business as shipbrokers, trading as Nelson, Ismay & Co. T.H. Ismay married Margaret Bruce in Liverpool on 7th April 1859. Nelson, Ismay ordered their first ship, from Alexander Stephen on the Clyde in 1858, and in the following years purchased several more vessels. On 1st April 1862 Philip Nelson retired and the firm was dis­solved. Ismay con­tin­ued with ship and insur­ance brokering, as T.H. Ismay & Co.

The shipping company Wilson & Cunningham went into liqui­­­dation on 18th January 1868. Its trading name, White Star, its house flag of a red burgee with a white star, and good­will, were sold to Thomas H. Ismay and George H. Fletcher for £1,000.

Gustav Schwabe introduced Ismay to Gustav Wolff, his nephew, and Edward Har­land, who were building steamships at Belfast. Schwabe pro­posed to Ismay that, if he had all his vessels built at the Belfast yard, he would back Ismay in estab­lishing a new shipping company. On 30th July 1868 T.H. Ismay’s White Star Line and Harland & Wolff finalised an agreement to build three steamers. Soon after Oceanic Steam Navigation Co. Ltd was formally registered on 6th September 1868, with an initial issue of 400 shares of £1,000 each. The new com­pany was to concentrate on the north Atlantic.

William Imrie Senior died in 1870 and his son, also William, combined the busi­ness with T.H. Ismay, known as Ismay, Imrie & Co. T.H. Ismay would manage steamers on the north Atlantic as White Star Line, while William Imrie would manage sailing vessels, mainly to Australia. White Star now started to grow and develop.

After several successful years, on 21st December 1891 T.H. Ismay resigned from Ismay, Imrie, with his sons Bruce and James joining the board; he remained as chairman. Ismay was summoned to the Foreign Office on 16th June 1897 and was informed that Queen Victoria wished to con­fer a baronetcy on him. However, the honour was declined.

While on a short holiday in early 1899, T.H. Ismay collapsed. Diagnoses varied, including liver complaint and lower bowel. The attacks con­tinued for several months, getting progressively more severe, although in July he was well enough to visit Belfast to tour Oceanic. While there he was presented with the freedom of the city.

On 28th August 1899 he suffered a major relapse. A surgeon operated on the gall bladder on 31st August, with a second operation on 4th September. T.H. Ismay’s health con­tinued to deteriorate, and on 13th Sep­tember he suffered the first of several heart attacks. T.H. Ismay died at just 62, on 23rd November 1899, and was buried on 27th November.

1917: Beaufront. Built 1915 by Dobson, Newcastle. Owner J Ridley & Son, 1,720 tons. En route from Bilbao to Tees with cargo of iron ore. Torpedoed and sunk off Finistere by German submarine U-82. No casualties.

1917: Ville du Havre. Built 1904 by Atel. et Chant. de France. Owner Cie Havraise Peninsular. French cargo ship, attacked and sunk north west of Cape Villano by German submarine U-48.

1918: Spenser. Built 1910 by Armstrong, Whitworth. Owner Lamport & Holt, 4,186 tons. En route from Buenos Aires to Liverpool with general cargo. Attacked and sunk by German submarine U-61, Captain Dieckmann, St George’s Channel. No casualties.

1918: Halberdier. Built 1915 by Ropners. Owner Fisher, Renwick, 1,049 tons. En route from Manchester to London with a general cargo. Attacked and sunk by U-61, Captain Dieckmann, St George’s Channel. 5 lost.

1918: Gascony. Built 1908 by Craggs, Middlesborough. Owner David MacIver, 3,133 tons. Attacked and sunk by UC-75, Captain  Lohs, 10 miles SSE of Owers light vessel. No casualties.

1918: Dagny. Built 1901 by W Gray, Hartlepool. Owner Dampsk. Heimdal, 1,220 tons. En route from Port Talbot to Bordeaux with a cargo of coal. Danish vessel, torpedoed and sunk in the Bay of Biscay by German submarine U-93, Captain Gerlach. 2 lost.

1918: Harry Luckenbach. Built 1881, W Gray, Hartlepool. Owner Luckenbach,2,798 tons. En route from Penarth. An American tanker, attacked and sunk in the Bay of Biscay by German submarine U-93, Captain Gerlach. 8 casualties.

1917: Allie. Built in 1899 by Harkess, Middlesborough. Owned by Stone & Rolfe, 1,139grt. She was en route from Swansea to Bordeaux with a cargo of copper sulphate, when she was sunk 10 miles NW of Bouée Baleines by German submarine UB-39, Heinrich Küstner. There were no casualties.

1917: Hudworth. Built 1916 by Blyth Shipbuilding. Owned by Trechmann Bros., 3,966grt. En route from Karachi to Hull with a cargo of barley and seed. Sunk by the German submarine U-35, Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, 94 miles ESE from Malta. There were no casualties.

1918: Knightsgarth. Built 1905 by Raylton Dixon. Owned by R & JH Rea, 2,889grt. En route from Lough Swilly to Barry. Torpedoed off Rathlin  Island by the German submarine U-91, Alfred von Glasenapp, 5 miles WNW from Bull Point, Rathlin Island. 2 persons were lost.

1918: Rio Claro. Built 1904 by Doxfords, Sunderland. Owner Petersen & Co., 3,687grt.  Torpedoed and sunk in the Mediterranean by German submarine U-63, Captain Hartwig, en route from Leghorn to Cartagena. Curiously, the after portion was refloated in March 1919, a new forward end was in built 1920 and the ship was put back in service.

1918: War Baron. Built 1917 by North West Steel, Portland, Oregon. Operated by The Shipping Controller, 6,240grt. En route from Southampton to Barry in ballast, was sunk by the German submarine U-55, Wilhelm Werner, 8 miles north-east of the Godrevy lighthouse, St Ives. 2 persons were lost.

1918: Rose Marie. Built 1916 by SP Austin, Sunderland. Owner Rodney Shipping, 2,220grt. En route from Scapa Flow to Barry, in ballast. Sunk by U-61, Captain Dieckmann, in St George’s Channel. 1 lost.

1941: Shakespear. Built 1926 by Duncan, Glasgow. Owner Glover Bros, 5,029grt. In convoy from Liverpool to North America. Attacked by Italian submarine off Senegal and returned fire but was sunk. 20 lost.

White Star’s Delphic was launched at Harland & Wolff, Belfast on 5th January 1897. She was jointly owned by White Star and Shaw, Savill & Albion for their service to New Zealand. She was a steel-hulled steamer with twin propellers, one funnel and four masts. She was designed to carry refrigerated meat in three forward holds and could also carry 1,000 emigrants. Originally she carried yards on the foremast plus three jibs and a two trysails. Delivered on 15th May 1897, she left on her maiden voyage to New York on 17th June, under Captain Sowden. After a second Atlantic crossing in July, she was placed on the New Zealand service.

On 30th September 1897 she left on her maiden voyage for Wellington, arriving on 21st November. After visiting several ports in New Zealand, she was back in London on 27th February 1898. She then settled into a regular service. Delphic also made two trooping runs to South Africa during the Boer War.

The German submarine U60 fired a torpedo at Delphic on 16th February 1917, but it missed. She was taken over in March 1917 under the Liner Requisition Scheme along with White Star’s Athenic, Bovic, Canopic, Cufic and Northland. Sailing from Cardiff to Montevideo with a cargo of coal, on 16th August 1917 Delphic was torpedoed by German submarine UC72; five crew died. The remainder were picked up by an escorting destroyer. Delphic stayed afloat but sank the next day.

1916: Coquet. Owned by Mercantile Shipping. Built in 1904 by Raylton Dixon, she was 4,396grt, 360 feet. Captured by German submarine U34, Captain Rücker, in the Mediterranean, and sunk by bombs. 17 lost.

1917: Wragby. Owned by Ropners. Built 1901, she was 3,641grt. Captured and sunk by gunfire by German submarine UC37, Captain Launburg, off Cape Sparkle. En route from Wales to Gibraltar with a cargo of coal.

1918: Rewa. Owned by British India. Built 1906 by Dennys. She was on Government service as Hospital Ship No. 5, and clearly marked as such. Torpedoed and sunk in the Bristol Channel by the German submarine U55, Captain Wilhelm Werner. Carrying 279 wounded officers and men from Mudros to Avonmouth. 4 lost.

1918: Iolanthe. Owned by London American Trading. Built 1904 by Grays of Sunderland, she was 3,081grt, 325 feet. Torpedoed in the English Channel, off Portland Bill, by German submarine UC75, Captain Lohs. Abandoned and later sank.

1918: Glenarm Head. Owned by Head Line. Built in 1897 by Workman, Clark, Belfast, she was 3,908grt. Torpedoed in the English Channel, some 5 miles off Brighton by German submarine UB30. En route Southampton to Boulogne with a cargo of ammunition. 2 lost.

1942: Kwangtung. 2,626grt. Shelled and sunk in the Java Sea by Japanese submarine I-156. Carrying about 96 crew and  35 military personnel. After being machine gunned in the boats, the submarine rammed lifeboats, only 35 survived.

1918: Gartland. Built in 1892 by Redheads of South Shields for Whimster & Co. Garland was a defensively armed steamer of 2,613grt and 91m long. She was torpedoed and sunk without warning by the German submarine UB30 about 5 miles east of the Owers light vessel off Kelsey Bill. She was carrying coal from the Tyne to Gibraltar. 2 crew were lost.

1918: Birchwood. Built in 1910 by Ropers for Birchwood Shipping, she was carrying coal from Glasgow to Devonport when she was attacked without warning and sunk by German submarine U61, 25 miles east of the Blackwater light vessel.

1943: Pinewood. Built in 1930 for France, Fenwick, she was 2,466grt. She struck a mine some 1.5 miles off Southend Pier and sank. Six of the crew were lost.

1943: British Vigilance. Built in 1942 by Harland & Wolff, Govan, she was 463 feet long, 8,093grt. On 3rd January 1943 she was in Convoy TM-1 from Curacao to Gibraltar carrying petrol when she was attacked by German submarine U514 about 900 miles north-east of Barbados. Abandoned by the crew, she burnt and drifted until she was finally torpedoed and sunk by U105 on 24th January 1943. 25 crew and 2 gunners lost.

1944: Empire Housman. Built in 1943 by William Oxford in Sunderland, she was a 7,359grt cargo ship. In Convoy ON217, she was torpedoed and damaged on 31st December 1943 by German submarine U545, she was attacked again on 3rd January 1944 by U744, and finally sank on 5th January 1944.

Belgic (Yard No 171) was launched at Harland & Wolff on 3rd January 1885, for the joint White Star/Occidental & Oriental service. She had two double-cylindered engines of 500 hp, which were two distinct and complete units capable of being disconnected, and worked separately. She was handed over to White Star on 7th July 1885, and arrived in London on 14th July. Originally the fore and main masts were rigged for sails.

Belgic began her maiden voyage to San Francisco on 30th July 1885. She was chartered by Orient Line as far as Sydney, carrying 590 emigrants. She called at Tenerife on 4th August for coal and Cape Town on 20th August. Belgic arrived at Sydney on 12th September 1885 then headed for Newcastle, New South Wales, on 30th September. She sailed from Newcastle on 10th October 1885 to join the trans-Pacific service, and arrived at San Francisco on 2nd November. Sailing from San Francisco on 28th November 1885, Belgic arrived at Yokohama on 19th December and Hong Kong on 28th December.

On 28th January 1886 Belgic suffered a broken piston rod and was delayed eight days at Yokohama for repairs. At Amoy, China, on 26th May 1894, Belgic was  struck amidships by Blue Funnel’s  Ulysses. The damage was above the waterline and she sailed the next day, arriving at San Francisco  on 18th June. On 8th September 1895 Belgic went ashore in Sateyama Bay in Japan. Refloated on 10th October 1895 she sailed to Yokosuka for temporary repairs. She returned to Hong Kong, arriving on 4th November, and remained there until January while repairs were completed.

Belgic  made her final San Francisco departure on 19th November 1898. She called at Honolulu, Yokohama and Hong Kong; from there she returned to England via Suez. Sold to Atlantic Transport Line in 1899, Mohawk (ex-Belgic) made her first sailing on 5th August 1899, from London to New York and her second on 7th September. She was taken over in December 1900 as a troop transport for Boer War service. Released from trooping in 1902, after inspection it was not economic to refurbish her and she was put up for sale. Mohawk was broken up in 1903 at Garston in Liverpool.