Britannic Technical Specification

A number of Hartlepool-built served in the company's fleet.

The following has been extracted from a much longer article ‘The Empire Prospero and W.H. Cockerline & Co. Ltd.’, written by James Layton, which appeared in the May/June 1990 issue No. 103 of the Tees Packet.

“W.H. Cockerline & Co. Ltd., Hull, was formed in 1885 to own two second-hand ships, the Baidar and the Spark. In January 1894 the awning deck steamer Pacific was completed by William Gray. In 1895, Gray’s shipyard also completed the Graphic and Majestic, followed in 1896 by the Atlantic and in 1897 by the Britannic. This latter ship was sold the following year and replaced by another Gray-built ship, again named Britannic.

Between 1903 and 1905, eight ships were built for the company at West Hartlepool: the Atlantic (2), Britannic (3), and Teutonic from Gray’s, and the Oceanic, Olympic, Adriatic, Majestic (2), and Germanic from Irvine’s. Irvine’s also completed the Corinthic in 1914.

Cockerline’s began to rebuild their fleet after the First World War, adding four new and two second-hand vessels, with Irvine’s providing another Corinthic (3) in 1924. Gray’s provided the Germanic (3) in 1936, the Athenic (2) in 1937, and the Atlantic (3) in 1939. In 1946 Cockerline’s bought the 1942 Gray-built Empire Gareth, renaming her Athenic (3).

In 1954 the company sold its last ship and went into voluntary liquidation in 1957.”

The company also managed ships for the Shipping Controller during the First World War, these included the Irvines-built ship War Hamlet and the Gray-built ship War Valley.

This section will, in time, contain the stories of more than 450 merchant ships built or owned in the Hartlepools, and which were lost during the First World War. As an illustration of the truly global nature of shipbuilding, these ships were owned by companies from 22 different countries, including more than 30 sailing under the German flag at the outbreak of war.