Glen Line

Glen Line was a UK shipping line that was founded in Glasgow in 1867. Its head office was later moved first to London and then to Liverpool.

A cigarette card showing the Glen Line funnel and flag colours

History
The Glen Line Building at the Corner of Peking Road and the Bund, Shanghai, 1939
Glen Line building in Shanghai in 2014

The firm had its roots in the co-operation between the Gow and McGregor families in Glasgow in the 1850s. Alan C Gow was a voyage broker, James McGregor organised the freight to fill the ships and by 1860 they were in partnership.

In 1867 Alan Gow had the sailing ship Estrella de Chile built to ply the route between Glasgow, Liverpool, and Chile via Cape Horn. She was wrecked in 1888. In 1868 the partners bought the barque Glenavon. She was the first of their ships to have the Glen- prefix in her name.[1][2] In 1881 the firm had the iron-hulled steamship Glenavon built. She was wrecked off the coast of China in 1898, killing 53 people.[3]

In 1911, Elder Dempster and Co acquired The Glen Line. During the First World War Glen Line lost five ships to U-boat attacks, including Glenartney in 1918.

In 1922, the Glen Line opened their new building on the Bund in Shanghai. The shipping agency occupied the first floor and the upper floors were rented out.[4]

The Glen Line was sold to Alfred Holt's Blue Funnel line in 1935. The company lost two further ships to U-boat attacks in the Second World War.

By 1978 all Glen Line ships had been sold.

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References
  1. "Glen Line". The Red Duster. Merchant Navy Association. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  2. Meighan, Michael (2013). Scotland's Lost Industries. Stroud: Amberley Publishing. p. 264. ISBN 978-1-4456-2401-3.
  3. Greenway, Ambrose (2009). Cargo Liners: An Illustrated History. Barnsley: Seaforth Publishing. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-84832-129-8.
  4. The Glen Line Building - built in 1922 (No. 28, The Bund), Shanghai Eastday

Further reading

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