Year |
Name |
Owner |
|
---|---|---|---|
1907 | Richmond | Chesapeake & Ohio | |
1914 | Dront | West Russian S.S. Co. | |
1908 | Richmond | Furness Withy & Co. Ltd. |
On a voyage from Archangel with a cargo of timber the Russian steamer Dront was torpedoed by German submarine U-28 (George Schmidt) & sank 106 miles NW by N of North Cape on 1 September 1917.
Christopher Furness was born at New Stranton, West Hartlepool, in 1852, the youngest of seven children. He became a very astute businessman, and by the age of eighteen was playing a major role in his older brother Thomas’ wholesale grocery business, being made partner in 1872.
In 1882 the two brothers decided to go their separate ways, allowing Thomas to concentrate on the grocery business, while Christopher took over the ownership and management of the four steamships their company was then operating.
This was the beginning of what would eventually become the huge Furness Withy & Co. Ltd. empire. As many books have been written detailing the history of this company, its ships and its many subsidiaries, this section will only feature those ships with direct Hartlepool connections.
Some of the ships that were not built at Hartlepool but owned by Furness are listed below as 'a general history'
More detail »
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.