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British shipping companies (Gr)

Great Central Railway
Great Eastern Co. (London) Ltd.
Great Grimsby Albion Steam Fishing Co., Ltd.
Great Northern Steamship Fishing Co., Ltd.
Great Yarmouth Shipping Co., Ltd.
Green & Wigram
Green's Blackwall Line
Green, Robinson & Co.
Greenshields, Cowie & Co.
Gresham Steam Shipping Co., Ltd.
Griffiths, Lewis & Co.
Grimsby & East Coast Steam Fishing Co., Ltd.
Grimsby & North Sea Steam Trawling Co., Ltd.
Grimsby Steam Alliance Fishing Co., Ltd.
Grimsby Steam Fishing Co.
Grimsby Victor Fishing Co.

See also:

Great Central Railway

image by Ivan Sache, 4 May 2021

The Great Central Railway's (GCR) involvement in shipping was as the successor to the Manchester, Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway Company (MS&LR), formed in 1846 from the amalgamation of three railway companies plus the Grimsby Docks Company. In the same year it acquired the rights to operate the long-established ferry services across the Humber from Barrow, New Holland and Goxhill. The MS&LR promoted the Deep Sea Fishing Company at Grimsby in 1854, the Great Northern and the Midland Railways also having an interest in the same. They sponsored by part-ownership some private shipping companies operating to the near Continent from 1856, but obtained full powers in their own right in July 1864, taking over five existing vessels and operating from Grimsby to Hamburg, Rotterdam and Antwerp. The first new ships were a quartet brought into service in 1865.
The Great Central, formed in 1897, took over a substantial fleet comprising Humber ferries and Continental steamers, several of which were to survive into LNER days. They continued a steady investment in new ships for all services, such that the LNER needed to do no more than build three new paddle ferries for the Hull - New Holland route.
In 1935 a managing company, Associated Humber Lines (AHL), was formed to manage the GCR fleet plus that of the Goole S.S. Company which managed the London Midland Scottish Railway (LMS) fleet based at Goole (in succession to the Lancashire & Yorkshire Railway Company), and also two Hull-based companies in which the LNER held managing interests. However, all vessels continued to be owned by their respective companies, until A.H.L. became an owner in its own right from 1957. The Grimsby fleet retained the GCR funnel colours of white with a black top for some years before adopting the AHL colours which were based on the buff, red and black of the LMS with 'AHL' superimposed on the red band.

The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) Encyclopedia
http://www.lner.info/ships/GCR/

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Great Central Railway (#1812, p. 123) as triangular, red with a white star placed near the hoist.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#88

The flag is shown on the official postcard of the "Immingham" (sailed 1906-1915), serving the Grismby-Rotterdam line.
http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/LNER_GCR1.html#anchor1597903
Ivan Sache, 4 May 2021

Great Eastern Co. (London) Ltd.

image by Jarig Bakker, 10 January 2006

Great Eastern Co. (London) Ltd., London - per fly, diagonal orange over green, in center black "G".
Source: Loughran (1995)
Jarig Bakker, 10 January 2006

Great Grimsby Albion Steam Fishing Co., Ltd.

image by Ivan Sache, 1 May 2021

The continuing strength of the Grimsby fish trade was confirmed by the MS & L Railway Company opening a second fish dock covering eleven acres in 1877. The next decade would see extensive improvements in steam trawler design. The Great Grimsby Steam Trawling Co. Ltd, commissioned two steam trawlers, the "Zodiac" and the "Aries", in 1881. The steam trawler would enable fishing in grounds beyond the North Sea and were more productive than smacks as they could operate in calm weather. In the 1880s the adaptation of the purpose built steam trawler was relatively slow, but during the 1890s the transition from sail to steam was rapid. By 1899 there were 6,340 registered net tons of sail compared to 25,082 registered net tons of steam, 37.7 per cent of the national steam tonnage.

"The story of traditional fish smoking in Grimsby"
http://www.seafoodacademy.org/LinkedDocuments/smoking/Grimsby%20Traditional%20Fish%20Smoking%20-%20text%20only.pdf
(no longer online)

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Great Grimsby Albion Steam Fishing Co., Ltd. (#1473, p. 107) as yellow, in the center a thick red cross patty.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#72
Ivan Sache, 1 May 2021

Great Northern Steamship Fishing Co., Ltd.

image by Ivan Sache, 29 April 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Great Northern Steamship Fishing Co., Ltd. (#1074, p. 88), a Hull-based company, as quartered per saltire blue and red with a white disc in the center.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#53
Ivan Sache, 29 April 2021

Great Yarmouth Shipping Co., Ltd.

image by Phil Nelson, 6 April 2000

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

image by Jarig Bakker

Based on The flagchart "Vlaggen in de haven van Amsterdam" (flags in the harbour of Amsterdam), no date. Per saltite white and blue, clockwise letters G S Co Y which read correctly anticlockwise. Basically the same design as above but with different colors and smaller letters
Jarig Bakker, 6 July 2004

Great Yarmouth Shipping Co. Ltd. According to Brown 1943 and 1951 there was an earlier flag of blue, two narrow white horizontal bands well spread with a white "S" between them [see below]. Possibly suspect as the letter hardly seems appropriate. The change, if there was one, to the yellow and black flag is shown by Stewart in 1953.
Neale Rosanoski, 15 June 2004

image by Rob Raeside

Brown's Flags and Funnels, 1951, also shows a flag blue with narrow white horizontal strips at 1/3 and 2/3 of flag height; in the center a white capital S.
Jarig Bakker, 6 July 2004

Green & Wigram

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 24 October 2010

Green & Wigram
It was a white flag divided by a red centred cross. A blue rectangle was superimposing the centre of the cross.
The origin of the flag according to source is at follows:
“The vessel SIR EDWARD PAGETT hoisted a flag with the cross of St. George in 1824, but when she reached Spithead the Port-Admiral indignantly ordered it to be struck. Thereupon the captain, equally indignant, is said to have picked up a pair of sailor’s breeches, cut a patch from their seat, pinned it over the centre of the flag, and re-hoisted.”
I guess, this is a variant of the story Ivan Sache told of Federal Steam Navigation Co. Ltd.
Source: Campbell and Evans (1953); page 40.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 24 October 2010

Green's Blackwall Line

image by Klaus-Michael Schneider, 24 October 2010

It was a white flag with the red cross of St. George superimposing a blue rectangle in the centre.
Source: Campbell and Evans (1953); page 40.
Klaus-Michael Schneider, 24 October 2010

Photograph of example of flag from National Maritime Museum in Greenwich (London): https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/430.html
Peter Hans van den Muijzenberg, 13 April 2019

Green, Robinson & Co.

image by Ivan Sache, 3 December 2005

A nicely designed house flag is shown on a handbill (middle of page) at http://www.proni.gov.uk/exhibiti/austral/bound.htm, namely that of Green, Robinson & Co. “established by Willis & Co., in 1843”. The handbill advertises a sailing planned for 20 July 1864 – obviously the transport of emigrants was important to the company.

A white triangular flag with a thin red border bears a red crescent and a red eight-pointed star.

I have not been able to find much, except for the fact that Willis & Co. was a Liverpool firm – but others say Scarborough.
Jan Mertens, 30 November 2005

Grimsby Steam Alliance Fishing Co., Ltd.

image by Ivan Sache, 25 April 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of
Grimsby Steam Alliance Fishing Co., Ltd. (#532, p. 62) as white with a red lozenge inscribing a blue handshake inscribed in a white disc.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#27
Ivan Sache, 25 April 2021

Greenshields, Cowie & Co.

(Knight Steamship Co., Ltd.)

image by Ivan Sache, 30 April 2021

Greenshields Cowie & Co Limited was established in 1938, although our records can be traced back to the 18th century. In 1887, Greenshields and Company merged with Charles George Cowie, Son and Company.
Both companies originated from Liverpool, and 200 years on, GSC still has offices there. During the American Civil War, Charles Cowie built a fleet of seven modern iron riggers, one of which was the "Fleur De Lis", still present in Greenshields Cowie’s logo today.
https://www.greenshieldscowie.com/about-us/
Corporate website

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Greenshields, Cowie & Co. (Knight Steamship Co., Ltd.) (#1261, p. 97) as white with a blue fleur-de-lis placed above a blue and red horizontal stripe.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#62
Ivan Sache, 30 April 2021

Gresham Steam Shipping Co., Ltd.

W. Pickering & Co.

image by Ivan Sache, 3 May 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Gresham Steam Shipping Co., Ltd. (W. Pickering & Co.) (#1707, p. 118), a Newcastle-based shipping company, as red with a white border and the black letters "WP&Co." in the center.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#83
Ivan Sache, 3 May 2021

Griffiths, Lewis & Co.

image by Ivan Sache, 1 May 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Griffiths, Lewis & Co. (#1491, p. 107), a Cardiff-based shipping company, as blue, in the middle, three yellow ostrich feathers.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#72
Ivan Sache, 1 May 2021

Grimsby & East Coast Steam Fishing Co., Ltd.

image by Ivan Sache, 4 May 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Grimsby & East Coast Steam Fishing Co., Ltd. (#1806, p. 122) as horizontally divided white-red, in canton, a white rectangle bordered blue.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/#87
Ivan Sache, 4 May 2021

Grimsby & North Sea 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 Grimsby & North Sea Steam Trawling Co., Ltd. (#691, p. 69) as blue with the white letters "STC".
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/34/
Ivan Sache, 26 April 2021

Grimsby Steam Fishing Co.

image by Ivan Sache, 10 April 2008

Lloyds Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of "Grimsby Steam Fishing Co., Ltd." (#253, p. 49), a company based in Grimsby, as red with a yellow cross in the middle. Grimsby was once the largest fishing port in the world. The Cod Wars with Iceland (1958, 1972, 1975-76) and the depletion of fish stocks in the Atlantic Ocean caused the decline of the trawler fleet of Grimsby.
Ivan Sache, 10 April 2008

Grimsby Victor Steam Fishing Co., Ltd.

image by Ivan Sache, 25 April 2021

Lloyd's Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of Grimsby Victor Steam Fishing Co., Ltd. (#619, p. 66), a Grimsby-based company, as white with with a red "V" in the center.
https://research.mysticseaport.org/item/l011061/l011061-c008/31/
Ivan Sache, 25 April 2021

British Shipping lines: continued