^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

British shipping companies (H)

Hector Steam Trawling Co., Ltd.
Headlam and Son
Helmsdale Steamship Company, Ltd.
Hellyer's Steam Fishing Co., Ltd.
Henderson Line (British & Burmese Steam Navigation Co., Ltd., & Burmah Steamship Co., Ltd.)
Henderson & Mcintosh
J. & W. Henderson, Ltd.
Hendry, McCallum & Co.
A.F. Henry & MacGregor
John Herron & Co.
Herskind & Co.
Hessler Shipping Co., Ltd.
Hill Steamship Co., Ltd.
Hindustan Steam Shipping Co. Ltd.
Hine Brothers

See also:

Hector Steam Trawling Co., Ltd.

image by Ivan Sache, 26 April 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of
Hector Steam Trawling Co., Ltd. (#633, p. 67), a Swansea-based company, as blue with a white shield inscribing a red sword (?).
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/32/
Ivan Sache, 26 April 2021

Headlam and Son

image by Phil Nelson, 7 April 2000

from Stewart and Styring's Flags, Funnels and Hull Colors 1963

Headlam & Sons. Originated 1890 according to Talbot-Booth who gives earlier names as Headlam & Rowland and Robinson & Rowland. The latter appears to have originated the flag only the colours were then reversed with the border being blue and the cross red as shown by Reed 1891. There was a merger with T. Marwood & Son which produced Rowland & Marwood's Steam Ship Co. Ltd. and they continued to use this flag except that the sources from Griffin 1895, with the exception of Lloyds 1904, show the flag as being square. Headlam & Sons are given as the managers who also operated through Headlam & Sons Steamship Co. Ltd. until the late 1960s using the same flag so they may have been owners also. In 1934 the company succumbed to Admiralty pressure re displaying the Red Cross emblem on white which had been outlawed by the Geneva Convention Act of 1911 and reversed the colours. This change may also have seen the flag change to a rectangle, or it may have occurred later, as although Talbot-Booth in 1949 was still stating that the flag was square, other sources from Brown 1943 on show a rectangular version.
Neale Rosanoski, 15 June 2004

Helmsdale Steamship Company, Ltd.

image by Ivan Sache, 27 April 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Helmsdale Steamship Company, Ltd. (J. & A. Roxburgh) (#858, p. 77), a Glasgow-based company, as composed of a red flag with a thin white saltire surmounted by a thin red triangular flag.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/42/
Ivan Sache, 27 April 2021

Hellyer's Steam Fishing Co., Ltd.

image by Ivan Sache, 30 April 2021

The Hellyer family came to Hull from the South coast, originating in Devon. Robert Hellyer moved to Hull from Brixham in the 1850s and by the end of the 1870s he and his sons owned a small fleet of sailing smacks. The Hellyer's fishing company was originally called Devon Fishing Company Ltd and later became Hellyer Brothers Ltd.

During the 1880s the company became involved in the construction of steam trawlers. In 1905 Charles Hellyer decided to build a completely new North Sea boxing fleet of steam trawlers comprising of approximately fifty trawlers.

Hellyer Brothers was absorbed into Associated Fisheries when it merged with the company in 1961. It ceased trading in 1965 and was dissolved in 1972.

Hull History Centre Catalogue
http://catalogue.hullhistorycentre.org.uk/catalogue/C-DBHB?tab=description

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Hellyer's Steam Fishing Co., Ltd. (#1446, p. 105), as blue with a white "H" in the center.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#70
Ivan Sache, 30 April 2021

Henderson Line (British & Burmese Steam Navigation Co., Ltd., & Burmah Steamship Co., Ltd.)

image by Jarig Bakker

The house flag of P. Henderson & Co., Glasgow. A rectangular tricolour in red white and blue with a small Union Flag in the centre. Based on the website of the National Maritime Museum.
Jarig Bakker, 23 August 2004

Henderson Line (British & Burmese Steam Navigation Co., Ltd., & Burmah Steamship Co., Ltd.)
Funnel: Black
House Flag: Red, White and Blue vertical Tricolour, with Union Jack in centre.
Ships: Prome, Salween, Yoma, Pegu, Amarapoora, Sagaing, Kemmendine, Burma, Katha, Kindat, Chindwin, Manadalay, Irrawaddy, Arracan, Henzada, Martaban.
Source: All About Ships & Shipping, by Edwin P. Harnack (ed.), 1938
Jarig Bakker, 30 June 2003

I understood that there was another similar flag to the one you described but as follows: A vertical tricolour, red, white and blue but this one had an emblem of a Scottish thistle centred in the white band. Do you by any chance know any thing about this flag.
Tom McGeachie, 30 June 2003

(Possibly J & P. Hutchison, Limited?)

I have a source which shows the Burns, Philp & Co., Ltd. houseflag as a regular r/w/b vertical tricolor with the thistle centered on the white stripe.
Source: Stewart (1953)
Ned Smith, 1 July 2003

I was one of the last people employed by Hendersons and the origin of the "Tricolour" is interesting. The French government allowed it, as a reward for Hendersons
transporting French troops from Marseilles to the Crimea, during the Crimean war. This tricolour was then again, at the request of the French government, reversed to the signal letter "T", (Red to the hoist) to avoid confusion.
Brian Dickson, 28 August 2003

Henderson Line. The fleet commodore used a swallow-tailed version of the flag. Some sources show the white band as broader both for this flag and its predecessor. The flag is also shown by various sources for the Irrawaddy Flotilla Co. Ltd. which they controlled or managed and which operated on the Irrawady River in Burma.
Neale Rosanoski, 15 June 2004

"Flags and Funnels of the British and Commonwealth Merchant Fleets" shows this flag but the white panel is wider, resulting a 1:2 Union Jack.
António Martins-Tuválkin, 16 June 2006

Formed at Glasgow in 1829 to operate the marble trade from Italy and the export of coal. In 1845, a service from Glasgow to Bombay and Australia was started and in 1848 the company entered the emigrant trade to New Zealand with calls at Burma for cargo on the return voyage, initially with chartered ships.
A subsidiary company, Albion Shipping Co. was formed in 1864 and this amalgamated with Shaw, Savill Line in 1882 to form Shaw, Savill & Albion Line.
In 1874, the British & Burmese Steam Navigation Co. was formed to operate regular liner sailings to Burma.

In 1947, ships were chartered to Elder Dempster Lines who purchased the company and fleet in 1952. The chartered ships were retained on the West Africa routes while P. Henderson & Co. continued to manage the Burma traders. In 1965 Ocean Steamship Co. acquired control of the group and in 1967 the six day war closed the Suez Canal and Henderson's service to Burma ceased and their last three ships transferred to Elder Dempster routes. The last Henderson ship was sold in 1970 and the name of Henderson disappeared from the shipowning scene.

https://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/burma.shtml
The Ships Lists

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the same house flag (#160, p. 44) for P. Henderson & Co.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#9
Ivan Sache, 21 April 2021

image by Jarig Bakker

Loughran (1979) shows also a commodore's pennant
Jarig Bakker, 23 August 2004

J. & W. Henderson, Ltd.

image by Ivan Sache, 27 April 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of J. & W. Henderson, Ltd. (#839, p. 76), a Aberdeen-based company, as horizontally divided white-red-white. with a blue "H" in the center.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/41/
Ivan Sache, 27 April 2021

Henderson & McIntosh

(Dunedin S.S. Co., Ltd.)

image by Ivan Sache, 29 April 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Henderson & Mcintosh (Dunedin S.S. Co., Ltd.) (#1154, p. 91), a Leith-based company, as quartered white-blue per saltire, with the blue letters "H" and "M" in the white quarters.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#56
Ivan Sache, 29 April 2021

Hendry, McCallum & Co.

image by Ivan Sache, 8 April 2008

Lloyds Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of "Hendry, McCallum & Co (Glasgow Steam Coasters Co., Ltd.)" (#183, p. 45), a company based in Glasgow (Scotland), as red with a blue triangle charged with a small white disk.
Ivan Sache, 8 April 2008

A.F. Henry & MacGregor

image by James Dignan

Based on Sampson (1957)
James Dignan, 14 October 2003

Reportedly headquartered in Leith, Scotland
Phil Nelson, 14 October 2003

A.F. Henry & MacGregor. Sources vary as to size and shape of the diamond. This version is supported by Talbot-Booth whereas the Brown series show the diamond within the field although the later versions do make it larger. However these editions are not consistent with one omitting the letters and others giving their colours as black. The early Stewarts show it as here but in 1963 it is shown as nearly throughout.
Neale Rosanoski, 15 June 2004

image by Jarig Bakker, based on the website of the National Maritime Museum.

From the website of the National Maritime Museum, "the house flag of Henry and MacGregor. A rectangular blue flag with a white diamond edged with red in the centre. On the diamond are the blue letters 'H & M'. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. A rope and toggle is attached."
Jarig Bakker, 13 August 2004

image by Rob Raeside

A F Henry & McGregor house flag based on letterhead from the company.
Phil Wilson, 29 March 2005

This second version of the house flag is much closer to what I remember it as being. The illustrations in Sampson (of which I have a copy) were sketchy at best. The company was indeed based in Leith. Their address was 1 Dock Place. The company was eventually absorbed by the Salvesen Group, around 1960.
Jim Piggins, 9 January 2007

John Herron & Co.

image by Ivan Sache, 4 May 2021

Captain Herron first saw the light of day in Ireland in 1820, probably at a small village called Kircubbin, on the shores of Strangford Lough. At the early age of 13 he was apprenticed to a Liverpool shipowner, and obtained his Master's Ticket when barely out of his teens. In 1850 he married a Miss Jane Carson at St. Thomas Church, Walton-on-the-Hill, and she followed the not unusual practice of those days of accompanying him to sea, as it is on record that in 1856 one of their son's was born on board the sailing ship 'Lord Raglan', of which Captain Herron was then in command. About that time the Captain was engaged in carrying troops to the Crimea and later to India at the time of the Great Mutiny, in fact on one occasion he witnessed the execution of some of the mutineers, who were blown from the muzzles of the guns.
His seafaring days came to an end in the 1860s when he was made Marine Superintendant of the fleet of Mr S.R Graves, a well known Liverpool owner, also Irish born, but when that gentlemen decided to stand for Parliament and sold his ships, Captain Herron himself became the owner, first in partnership with his brother under the name William and John Herron and later to John Herron & Co, with his son-in-law, Captain Isaiah Weaver, of 'Mount Pleasant House', Wallasey, as one of his partners. Although Mrs Heron presented her husband with eight children, the marriage was not without tragedy in as much as five of the children, two sons and three daughters, predeceased their parents, one of the daughters Mary, the first born, being lost at sea in 1899 with her husband and two children, when one of their father's sailing ships, the 'Lord Raglan', presumable named after his earlier command, left San Francisco for Queenstown with a cargo of wheat and vanished without trace.
Mrs Herron died in April 1897, and barely a month later, at the age of 77 , her husband succumbed to an attack of pneumonia, said to have been caught while attending the funeral of a friend, Mr H.A Bailey, in St. Hilary's Churchyard, He was buried in Flaybrick Cemetery on 28th May, 1897, six ferrymen acting as pall-bearers.
During his lifetime Captain Herron took an active part in local affairs, being Chairman of the Wallasey Local Board in 1892, Chairman of the Liscard Branch of the Wirral Liberal Association, a Governor of Wallasey Grammar School, and an official of Egerton Presbyterian Church. Although his private benefactions were said to overshadow his public gifts, he did, in fact, present the band stand in Central Park to the town, and gave £600 to the Jubilee Fund for the erection of Victoria Central Hospital, in memory of his wife.

History of Wallasey
http://www.historyofwallasey.co.uk/wallasey/mansions_manor_road_and_withens_lane/index.html

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of John Herron & Co. (#1875, p. 126), a Liverpool-based company, as swallow-tailed, white with a blue cross, charged in the respective quarters with the red letters "J", "H", "&" and "Co", in the center, a charge, maybe a liverbird.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#91
Ivan Sache, 4 May 2021

Herskind & Co.

image by Ivan Sache, 30 April 2021

Fritz Herskind owned ships from the early 1870's. Herksind & Woods was formed in 1884 between Fritz and Peter Herskind and James Jabez Woods. The partnership was dissolved by mutual consent on the 20th August 1892. On 31st August 1892 the Company became known as Herskind & Co. with the main shareholders Fritz and his father Peter.
Five of Fritz's early ships were built by Matthew Pearse and two by Ropner. All of his subsequent ships were built in West Hartlepool and all appear to have been purchased new.

https://www.hhtandn.org/venues/4411/herskind-and-co
Hartlepool History Then and Now

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Herskind & Co. (#1254, p. 96), as swallow-tailed, yellow with a blue cross patty.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#61
Ivan Sache, 30 April 2021

Hessler Shipping Co., Ltd.

image by Ivan Sache, 23 April 2021

Hessler Shipping Co., was founded in 1901 with the main owner being Jacob Hessler. He had entered into a partnership with Furness, Withy & Co., in that year. The company was later known as the Swift Steam Ship Co. Ltd., then as the Hartlepools Seatonia S.S. Co.
The company managed ships for the M.O.W.T. during WW1.

Jacob Kruse Muller Hessler (1859-1938) was born on 3 January, 1859 at Skein, Norway. He came to West Hartlepool when he was about twelve years of age.
He first worked for Groves, Maclean & Co., shipowners then for V. Nilson & Co., timber merchants. In 1881, living at Stranton, Jacob was listed as a shipbroker’s clerk. By 1891 Jacob had started his own business as a shipbroker. He became a naturalised British subject on 10 July, 1899.
Jacob was Vice-Consul for Norway for many years and in 1919 was made a Knight of St. Olav in recognition of his services.

https://www.hhtandn.org/venues/3545/hessler-shipping-co-ltd
Hartlepool History Then and Now

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Hessler Shipping Co., Ltd. (Furness, Withy & Co., Ltd.) (#399, p. 55) as red, charged in the center with a blue fouled anchor placed per bend on a white rectangle framed in red and white.

https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#20
Ivan Sache, 23 April 2021

Hill Steamship Co., Ltd.

(Hugh Evans & Co.)

image by Ivan Sache, 1 May 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Hill Steamship Co., Ltd. (Hugh Evans & Co.) (#1597, p. 113), a London-based shipping company, as white, in the middle a red square diamond, in the respective corners, the red letters "H", "I", L", and "L".
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#78
Ivan Sache, 1 May 2021

Hindustan Steam Shipping Co. Ltd.

[Hindustan Steam Ship CO. Ltd. houseflag]

image by Phil Nelson, 6 April 2000

from Stewart and Styring's Flags, Funnels and Hull Colors 1963

Brown 306: Hindustan Steam Shipping Co., Ltd. (Common Bros), Newcastle-on-Tyne
Funnel: Black, on a wide red band bordered white a white C.
Flag: 2:3; quartered Blue before Yellow over White before Red. (The C on the funnel could be for "Common")
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 20 October 2003

The same house flag is shown (#1754, p. 120) in Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912).
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#85
Ivan Sache, 4 May 2021

image by Rob Raeside

Hindustan Steam Ship Co. Ltd. Formed in 1893 by J.W. Squance & Co. who changed their name to Common Brothers Ltd. in 1906 following the retirement of Captain Squance. The flag is probably more correctly ascribed to Common Brothers although Hindustan Steamship Co. Ltd. was their main shipping arm in their days of shipowning which seems to have ended in the late 1970s. By then they were into ship management mainly as Common Brothers (Management) Ltd. and according to Loughran (1979) they flew their flag as a pennant [possibly the ordinary rectangular flag was also so used as Brown 1951 shows this in the case of the Australia-China Line and then shows the pennant in the 1958 edition] superior to that of the houseflag of the managed company, first as the plain quartered pennant but then with an amended version which saw the quarters placed diagonally and the company logo placed on the white in the hoist. Unfortunately there is no description of this. The company faded out of sight in Lloyds in the late 1980s after it was acquired by Norex Corporation before resuming briefly in the late 1990s.
Neale Rosanoski, 15 June 2004

My father sailed with the company [Common Bros.] from mid 50s to early 70s, and so did I being a young ‘un who got to sail with his dad. Your information suggests that it was Hindustan team Shpg Co that did most of the trade during the ship-owning days, by which I suppose you mean the entire life of the company. While that may be the case, from early 50s, Commons became heavily involved with tankers, having a 25% share in the Lowland Tanker Co, formed with British Tankers and Mathesons of Hong Kong, with Commons being the managers. The tanker trade outstripped the general cargo side, and in fact there was another subsidiary, the Vallum Shipping Co which ran 5 ore carriers.

As regards the Common Bros pennant, I do have recollections of seeing a rectangular flag flying too, although time may have dimmed the accuracy of the memory.
John Bedigan, 17 May 2011

Hine Brothers

image by Jarig Bakker, based on the website of the National Maritime Museum.

From the website of the National Maritime Museum, "the house flag of Hine Brothers, Maryport. A white rectangular flag with a red border. In the centre, there is a blue oval with the letters 'H. BRS.' in white. The flag is made of wool bunting with a linen hoist and is machine sewn. A rope and toggle is attached."

Maryport is in Cumbria (England) opposite the Isle of Man
Jarig Bakker, 15 August 2004

The Hine Brothers, Wilfred and Alfred, founded their shipping company, the Holme Line in 1872. Wilfred Hine had already been involved in the shipping business, operating and co-owning several ships in Liverpool. In its first five years, the company operated 16 ships. The Hine brothers tended to buy newer ships, as opposed to most ship owners in their port town of Maryport, who relied on older ships. The Holme Line ships ran trading routes to Australia, returning to Britain with wool. They also carried steel rails to Canada for the Canadian Pacific Railway coming back loaded with grain and timber products. By 1900 the company operated about 27 steamships. It was in this year that the company purchased its last ship, the ‘Hazel Holme’ which was subsequently wrecked in the Bay of Biscay in 1911. The Holme Line was particularly unlucky with wrecks and lost nine ships during its time in business. One wreck, the ‘Thomas Vaughan’, is now a popular dive site off the coast of Pembrokeshire. In the early twentieth century, Maryport experienced a severe decline in its shipping business. In 1913, shipbuilding ceased in the town and in 1914 the shipyards had closed. The Holme Line inevitably suffered during this time and was forced to finally terminate its business in 1913.

National Maritime Museum:
http://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/432.html

image by Ivan Sache, 1 May 2012

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows a very similar house flag (#1595, p. 112).
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#77
Ivan Sache, 1 May 2012

British Shipping lines: continued