Fyffes Line
Encyclopedia
Fyffes
-History:In the 1870s Thomas Fyffe, a London food wholesaler, went into partnership with a fruit dealer named Hudson who had connections in the Canary Islands. In 1878 they shipped their first cargo of bananas to England. Within five years the business had become so successful that they purchased...
.
History
With the formation of Elders & Fyffes Ltd in 1901 it was necessary to procure suitable ships on which to transport their bananas from the West Indies to the UK. Therefore, in 1902 when the Furness LineFurness Withy
Furness Withy was a major British transport business. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange.-History:The Company was founded by Christopher Furness and Henry Withy in 1891 in Hartlepool. This was achieved by the amalgamation of the Furness Line of steamers with the business of Edward Withy and...
was anxious to sell three steamships each of 2,875 gross tonnage, the new company raised the necessary funds to buy them. Named , Chickahominy and Greenbriar, they were all refitted in Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
and a special cooling system installed to keep the fruit firm during the crossing. The first of these entered service later the same year as a banana boat and a fourth vessel, the Oracabessa, was also added to the fleet.
In 1904, three purpose built banana boats were ordered, each of 3.760 gross tonnage, and these proved to be timely replacements for the original vessels which were sold to the United Fruit Company
United Fruit Company
It had a deep and long-lasting impact on the economic and political development of several Latin American countries. Critics often accused it of exploitative neocolonialism and described it as the archetypal example of the influence of a multinational corporation on the internal politics of the...
. The new ships also carried a small number of passengers in relative comfort, especially when compared to the Royal Mail steamers
Royal Mail Ship
Royal Mail Ship , usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, a designation which dates back to 1840, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract by Royal Mail...
of that period. As such they have been acknowledged as playing a significant part in bringing the first tourists to Jamaica
Jamaica
Jamaica is an island nation of the Greater Antilles, in length, up to in width and 10,990 square kilometres in area. It is situated in the Caribbean Sea, about south of Cuba, and west of Hispaniola, the island harbouring the nation-states Haiti and the Dominican Republic...
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By the start of World War I, the Fyffes fleet had grown to 18 ships, but almost all were then requisitioned by the government for war work. During the next four years ten ships were sunk by torpedoes or mines.
The company recovered quickly and less than five years after the war had achieved an even stronger position than it occupied in 1914. Then major problems arose; the 1923 dock strike and the Great Depression in the United Kingdom
Great Depression in the United Kingdom
The Great Depression in the United Kingdom, also known as the Great Slump, was a period of national economic downturn in the 1930s, which had its origins in the global Great Depression...
, a series of floods and hurricanes in Jamaica and the Spanish Civil War
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil WarAlso known as The Crusade among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War among Carlists, and The Rebellion or Uprising among Republicans. was a major conflict fought in Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939...
all produced their own difficulties. By 1938 the Fyffes fleet which had numbered 36 ships in 1932 was down to 21.
By September 1939 there had been 56 ships which had flown the Fyffes flag during the previous 38 years. During the following six years of war 14 ships were lost at sea.
In November 1940 the British Government imposed a total ban on the import of bananas, having decided that the only fruit that could be imported for the duration of the war was oranges
Orange (fruit)
An orange—specifically, the sweet orange—is the citrus Citrus × sinensis and its fruit. It is the most commonly grown tree fruit in the world....
. This ban continued until 30 December 1945 when the SS Tilapa, flying the Fyffes Line flag, arrived in the UK with the first cargo of bananas to be seen for over five years.
After the war, Fyffes regularly carried distinguished passengers on its ships including Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone
Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone
Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone was a member of the British Royal Family. She was the longest-lived Princess of the Blood Royal of the British Royal Family and the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria...
, who, as Chancellor of the University of the West Indies
University of the West Indies
The University of the West Indies , is an autonomous regional institution supported by and serving 17 English-speaking countries and territories in the Caribbean: Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Dominica,...
, made frequent visits to Jamaica and the West Indies Cricket Team who came to play Test Matches
Test cricket
Test cricket is the longest form of the sport of cricket. Test matches are played between national representative teams with "Test status", as determined by the International Cricket Council , with four innings played between two teams of 11 players over a period of up to a maximum five days...
in England (the team always ended their visit by playing a private game against Elders & Fyffes own cricket team at the company’s sports ground in New Malden
New Malden
New Malden is a town and shopping centre in the south-western London suburbs, mostly within the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames and partly in the London Borough of Merton, and is situated from Charing Cross...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
). To this end, it built two final ships (TSS Golfito
TSS Golfito
TSS Golfito was a passenger-carrying banana boat of the Fyffes Line. She was 8687 tons and long.-History:She was built in 1949 by Alexander Stephen & Sons, Glasgow and scrapped at Faslane in 1972.-Accommodation:...
(1949) and TSS Camito
TSS Camito
TSS Camito was a passenger-carrying banana boat of the Fyffes Line. At 8501.73 tons gross, 3878.90 tons nett, 448 feet long and with a cruising speed of 18 Knots, she was the second ship to bear the name.-History:...
(1956)), which together provided a fortnightly service between the UK and the Caribbean until the company's withdrawal from ship-owning in the early 1970s.