The Union-Castle Line was a British shipping line that operated a fleet of passenger liners and cargo ships between Europe and Africa from 1900 to 1977. It was formed from the merger of the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line.
It merged with Bullard King and Clan Line in 1956 to form British & Commonwealth Shipping, and then with South African Marine Corporation (commonly referred to as Safmarine) in 1973 to create International Liner Services, but maintained its separate identity throughout. Its shipping operations ceased in 1977.
Predecessor lines
The Union Line was founded in 1853 as the Southampton Steam Shipping Company to transport coal from South Wales to Southampton. It was renamed the Union Steam Collier Company and then the Union Steamship Company. In 1857, renamed the Union Line, it won a contract to carry mail to South Africa, mainly the Cape Colony. The inaugural sailing of Dane left Southampton on 15 September.
Meanwhile, Donald Currie had built up the Castle Packet Co. which traded to Calcutta round the Cape of Good Hope. This trade was substantially curtailed by the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, and the Castle Line started to run to South Africa instead, later becoming the Castle Mail Packet Company.
In 1872 the Cape Colony gained responsible government and its first Prime Minister, John Molteno, ordered a re-negotiation of the country's mail services. In 1876, keen to avoid either of the two main companies gaining a monopoly on the country's shipping, he awarded the South African mail contract jointly to both the Castle Mail Packet Company and the Union Line. The contract included a condition that the two companies would not amalgamate, as well as other clauses to promote competition, such as alternating services and speed premiums. This competition led to their shipping services running at unprecedented speed and efficiency. The contract was eventually to expire however, and the period of intense competition was later to give way to co-operation, including transporting troops and military equipment during the Boer War. Finally, on 8 March 1900, the Union Line and Castle Shipping Line merged, creating the Union-Castle Mail Steamship Company, Ltd, with Castle Shipping Line taking over the fleet.
Union-Castle Line
Union-Castle named most of their ships with the suffix "Castle" in their names; the names of several inherited from the Union Line were changed to this scheme (for example, Galician became ) but others (such as ) retained their original name. They were well known for the lavender-hulled liners with red funnels topped in black, running on a rigid timetable between Southampton and Cape Town. Every Thursday at 4pm a Union-Castle Royal Mail Ship would leave Southampton bound for Cape Town. At the same time, a Union-Castle Royal Mail Ship would leave Cape Town bound for Southampton. In 1922 the line introduced its Round Africa service, a nine-week voyage calling at twenty ports en route. Alternate sailings travelled out via the Suez Canal and out via West Africa.
The combined line was sold to the Royal Mail Line in 1911, but continued to operate as Union-Castle. Many of the line's vessels were requisitioned for service as troop ships or hospital ships in the First World War, and eight were sunk by mines or German U-boats. The Royal Mail Line ran into financial difficulties in the 1930s, culminating in the prosecution of its director Lord Kylsant, and Union-Castle Line became an independent company again with Vernon Thomson as Managing Director. Many vessels were again requisitioned in the Second World War. Three – , Carnarvon Castle, Dunvegan Castle became armed merchant cruisers. (1939) was also first requisitioned as an armed merchant cruiser, but later served as an escort carrier.
After the war the line made good use of its three ships converted to troop transports to facilitate carrying the vast number of emigrants seeking new lives in East and South Africa. When they ran out of berths the line set up its own internal travel agency to book passages on other lines and even air services. The mail service to South Africa, curtailed during hostilities, recommenced with the sailing of Roxburgh Castle from Southampton on 2 January 1947.
British & Commonwealth, and International Liner Services
The company took over the King Line in 1949, and merged with Bullard King and Clan Line in 1956 to form British & Commonwealth Shipping. It merged with South African Marine Corporation in 1973 to create International Liner Services, but competition with air travel adversely affected its shipping activities, and cargo shipping rapidly became containerised. The final South African mail service arrived in Southampton on 24 October 1977, and International Liner Services withdrew from shipping in 1982. British & Commonwealth continued in other fields, and acquired Atlantic Computers in 1989, but accounting problems soon became apparent and British & Commonwealth was liquidated in 1990.
In the 1950s and 60s the line operated a fleet of fifteen ships, eight on the principal weekly mail run from Southampton to Cape Town. Each ship could carry an average of two hundred First Class passengers and four hundred and fifty in Tourist Class. Six of the remaining ships operated the monthly Round Africa service, sailing both clockwise and anti-clockwise round the continent. The remaining ship operated a service carrying up to 750 Tourist Class passengers to Beira and back via the West Coast route every three months.
In December 1999 the Union-Castle name was revived for a millennium cruise; the P&O ship was chartered for a 60-day cruise around Africa, and had its funnel repainted for the occasion.
The last few surviving Union-Castle Line ships were scrapped in the early 21st century, the former Kenya Castle in 2001, the former in 2003, the former Dunnottar Castle in 2004, and finally in 2005.
Ships
The initial Union fleet consisted of the colliers Union, Briton, Saxon, Norman and Dane. In 1860 this was augmented by the much larger Cambrian.
At the time of the merger in 1900, the Union fleet included: Arab (1879–1900), Briton (1897–1926), Falcon (1896–1942), Gaika (1896–1926), (1899–1916), Galician (1900-1918), (1897–1928), Gaul (1893–1906), German (2) (1898–1930), Goorkka (1897-1926), Goth (1893–1913), Greek (1893–1906), Guelph (1894–1913), Mexican (1883–1900), Moor (1881-1901), Norman (2) (1894–1926), Sabine (1895–1921), (1900–1935), Scot (1891–1905), Spartan (1881–1900), Susquehanna (1896–1926), and Trojan (1880–1900), with Celt on order (renamed before it came into service) and the Castle Line fleet included: Arundel Castle (3) (1894–1905), Avondale Castle (1897–1912), Braemar Castle (1) (1898–1924), Carisbrook Castle (1898–1922), Doune Castle (1890–1904), Dunolly Castle (1897–1905), (1890–1913), Dunvegan Castle (1896–1923), Garth Castle (1880–1901), Harlech Castle (1894–1904), Hawarden Castle (1883–1904), (1899–1931), Kinfauns Castle (2) (1899–1927), Lismore Castle (1891–1904), (1883–1903), (2) (1883–1906), Raglan Castle (1897–1905), Roslin Castle (2) (1883–1904), Tantallon Castle (2) (1894–1901), Tintagel Castle (1) (1896–1912)
ShipBuiltTonnageNotes and references19015,893Passenger steamer Built by William Beardmore and Company, Glasgow Torpedoed by U-81 on 21 March 1917 190312,9731936 scrapped19014,460Steamer Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd., Glasgow Torpedoed by U-90 on 21 Nov 1917Arundel Castle18944,588Passenger ship built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company, launched 1895, sold to the Danish East Asiatic Company in 1905 and renamed Birma192119,023Passenger ship built by Harland and Wolff, launched 11 September 1919, completed 8 April 1921, maiden voyage 22 April 1921, scrapped 1959Athlone Castle193625,564Passenger ship built by Harland and Wolff, launched 28 November 1935, completed 13 May 1936, maiden voyage 22 May 1936, scrapped 1965Balmoral Castle191013,3611939 scrappedBalmoral Castle19657,952ex-Clan Robertson 1976 renamed Balmoral Castle 1979 renamed Balmoral Universal 1982 sold to Greece, renamed Psara Reefer.Bampton Castle19206,6981932 sold to Greece, renamed AtlantisBanbury Castle19186,430ex-Glenstrae 1920 purchased from Glen Line, renamed Banbury Castle 1931 sold to Greece, renamed RokosBerwick Castle19025,8831919 burnt out at Mombasa, sold to Italy195018,4001959 sold to Greece, renamed Patris18986,318Hospital ship Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd., Glasgow Mined and damaged by U-73 in the Aegean Sea in 1916Braemar Castle19437,067ex-Empire Duchess 1949 purchased from MoWT, renamed Braemar Castle 1950 transferred to King Line, renamed King James 1958 sold to Hong Kong, renamed Tyne BreezeBraemar Castle195217,0291966 scrappedBratton Castle19206,6961931 sold to Greece, renamed Proteus193827,0001967 scrappedCarlisle Castle19134,325Steamer Built by Northumberland SB. Co., Ltd., Newcastle upon Tyne ex-Holtye 1915 purchased from F.S. Holland & Co., London, renamed Carlisle Castle Torpedoed by UB-57 near Royal Sovereign Light Vessel on 14 Feb 1918Carlow Castle19175,8331930 sold to Mitchell, Cotts & Co., renamed Cape St. ColumbaCarnarvon Castle192620,122Passenger ship built by Harland and Wolff, launched 14 January 1926, completed 26 June 1926, maiden voyage 16 July 1926, scrapped 1963Cawdor Castle19026,2351926 went ashore South West Africa and declared a total lossChepstow Castle19137,494ex-Anglo-Brazilian 1915 purchased from Nitrate Producers Ltd., renamed Chepstow Castle 1933 scrappedCluny Castle19035,1471924 transferred to Bullard King, renamed UmkuziComrie Castle19035,173Passenger steamer Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd., Glasgow Torpedoed and damaged by UC-71 S of St.Catherine's Point on 14 Mar 1918 1924 transferred to Bullard King, renamed UmvotiCorfe Castle19014,5921927 sold to W. Schuchmann, Hamburg, renamed OsteeCrawford Castle19104,264ex-Hova 1917 purchased from F.S. Holland, London, renamed Crawford Castle 1930 sold to W. Kunstmann, Stettin, renamed Victoria W. Kunstmann19048,271Hospital ship Built by Barclay, Curle & Co., Ltd., Glasgow Torpedoed and sunk by UC-67 N of Bona, Algeria on 26 May 1917Dover Castle19647,950ex-Clan Ranald 1976 renamed Dover Castle 1979 renamed Dover Universal 1981 sold to Greece, renamed Golden SeaDrakensberg Castle19459,905ex-Empire Allenby 1946 purchased from MoWT, renamed Drakensberg Castle 1959 scrappedDromore Castle19195,242Cargo ship Built by Harland & Wolff at Greenock Launched as War Poplar, completed as Dromore Castle She hit a mine and sank whilst in a convoy SE of the River Humber, without any loss of life, on 12 Dec 1941Dunbar Castle18832,837Steamship Laid down as Doune Castle and upon purchase named Dunbar Castle 1895 Sold to Fairfield Ship Building and Engineering Co. and renamed Olympia 10 December 1910 – ran aground on Bligh Reef off Alaska's Prince William Sound and sank without loss of lifeDunbar Castle193010,002Passenger ship built by Harland and Wolff, completed 20 May 1930, struck a mine off North Foreland, Kent and sank on 9 January 1940Dundrum Castle19195,259Cargo ship built by Harland and Wolff, completed 31 December 1919, caught fire and sank in Red Sea 2 April 1943Dunluce Castle19048,114Passenger ship built by Harland and Wolff, completed 15 September 1904, sold for scrapping in 1939 but purchased by the Admiralty for use as accommodation ship18905,625Passenger ship Built by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Co, Goven, Scotland Dec 1899 requisitioned as a troop transport for the Second Boer War