Elder Dempster
| Industry | Shipping |
|---|---|
| Fate | Wound up |
| Founded | Liverpool, England (1932) |
| Defunct | 2000 |
| Headquarters | Liverpool, England |
|
Key people
|
Sir Geoffrey Ellerton, Kt, CMG, MBE (Chairman 1972–74) |
| Parent | Ocean Group plc |
| Subsidiaries | Seaway Car Transporters Ltd |
Elder Dempster Lines was a UK shipping company that traded from 1932 to 2000, but had its origins in the mid-19th century.
Alexander Elder was born in Glasgow in 1834. He was the son of David Elder, who for many years was manager of Robert Napier and Sons, the engine and shipbuilders and the brother of John Elder.
Alexander Elder served as chief engineer of Columbian, an iron barque of 2189 tons fitted with a 400 horse-power auxiliary engine. This vessel, built for the Australian run, was chartered by the French in 1855 and saw service in the Crimean War.
In 1856 Alexander Elder joined W. and H. Laird to act as superintendent engineer for the African Steamship Company.
John Dempster was born in 1837 in Penport, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire where his father, William Dempster, was builder to the Duke of Buccleuch. The Dempster family moved to Birkenhead in the 1840s and John joined W. and H. Laird as a clerk in 1851 when he was aged fourteen.
Elder Dempster and Company began its commercial activities on 1 October 1868, when John Dempster made it his business to circularise all potential customers:
"I beg to inform you that this Company intend to dispatch, early in January next, the first of their line of Steamers, at present being constructed on the Clyde for trading between Glasgow, Liverpool and the West Coast of Africa.
"The Steamers are to sail monthly, and the ports which it is intended shall be called at are Sierra Leone, Cape Palmas, Cape Coast Castle, Accra, Lagos, Benin Bonny, Old Calabar and Fernando Po, but should sufficient inducement offer, arrangements will be made for their calling at other ports, either on the outward or homeward voyages. The Steamers are being specially built for the African Trade and, besides being comfortably fitted up for passengers, they will have extensive cargo space, which will enable them to carry rough goods at moderate rates."
Elder Dempster Shipping Limited was formed in 1899. Among their ships were the liner SS Monterey and the steamer SS Montezuma, which in early 1900 were both chartered as transport ships for British troops destined for South Africa during the Second Boer War.
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Wikipedia