P and A Campbell
Encyclopedia
P & A Campbell Ltd of Bristol
with its White Funnel Fleet became the dominant excursion-steamer operator in the Bristol Channel
by the 1890s; and along the South Coast of England in the first half of the twentieth century.
without any particular railway interests or involvement. The Campbell brothers saw how their rival Cardiff-based company Edwards, Robertson developed valuable links between its Yellow Funnel Fleet and the powerful Taff Vale Railway
for through ticketing between South Wales valleys towns and resorts in Devon
and Somerset
, via Cardiff
and Penarth
. But by the late 1890s the White Funnel Fleet of P & A Campbell Ltd had taken over the vessels of its Cardiff-based competitors, and the supremacy of the Bristol ships was clear to see.
was very much a company created to serve a docks complex for the export of coal. Passenger train operations were secondary to the primary purpose of moving minerals traffic down from the valleys. The company had succeeded in gaining access to numerous valleys already served by other railways in order to tap the abundant minerals traffics of the South Wales coalfield for export through its large new Barry Docks.
Perhaps it was only natural that the Barry interests should seek to challenge those that were perceived as threatening. As Barry Docks complex had taken shape, it was a relatively straightforward matter to extend passenger railway operations from Barry across to Barry Island
for leisure traffic, and then to push further by tunnelling through to what was to become Barry Pier station, immediately adjacent to the main entrance lock to Barry Docks.
Although the Barry Railway Company thought in terms of controlling its own steamship operations from the outset, it was realised that this would meet with opposition from Campbell's at Bristol with its large fleet, and so the Barry Company initially settled for an alliance where by the White Funnel Fleet of steamers served Barry Pier when it opened in 1899.
But it was to be an uneasy alliance, and so the point was soon reached where the Barry Company would feel obliged to go it alone. The struggle that followed was to be both litigious and complicated, as both companies fought from 1905 to 1910 to compete. In 1912, the Barry Railway Company
sold its remaining three Red Funnel Paddle Steamer
's to P & A Campbell. The service continued under Campbell's control very well until post World War, as the motor car over took the Paddle Steamer service. The service finally ended in the 1970s, after services at Barry Pier had dwindled and were finally given up, and the pontoon dismantled.
and Hastings
; a return to those services continued from 1923 until WWII started in September 1939. Among the excursions were trips to cross-Channel ports. After the war services were resumed, but the period of paddle steamer cruising was ending by the 1950s and the final season in 1957 was undertaken by motor vessel.
, boats from both of Campbell's fleets were used for transporting both troops and military equipment, and latterly used for mine sweeping, throughout the conflict.
The most covered use of a Campbell's boat was the role of the South Wales paddle steamer Glen Gower. She took part in the Dunkirk evacuation, Operation Dynamo
, and is featured in the newsreel coverage of Pathé
. Reaching Dunkirk in the most dangerous period in early June, she was unable to reach the port or pier so rescued soldiers straight from the beach. Moored under intense Nazi artillery
fire, during her loading she was holed beneath the water line, but managed to make it back to Harwich
. She survived the war, and was scrapped in 1960.
Three others Campbell boats were not so lucky. The southcoast based Brighton Queen and Brighton Belle were sunk, while the Bristol Channel based Devonia was so severely damage by shell fire, she was left stranded and abandoned on the beach at Dunkirk.
was appointed, and the company sold to George Nott Industries, part of the Townsend Ferries group. It was suggested that Townsend bought the business as a tax loss, but the business entered the 1960 season with two operational steamers (Cardiff Queen and Bristol Queen), and another one (Devonia) laid up. After Bristol Queen was withdrawn in 1967, the company chartered the Balmoral, which continued sailings until 1980.
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
with its White Funnel Fleet became the dominant excursion-steamer operator in the Bristol Channel
Bristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
by the 1890s; and along the South Coast of England in the first half of the twentieth century.
The White Funnel fleet
The White Funnel Fleet of the Bristol-based company of P & A Campbell Ltd had its origins as a purely excursion-steamer business trading in the Bristol ChannelBristol Channel
The Bristol Channel is a major inlet in the island of Great Britain, separating South Wales from Devon and Somerset in South West England. It extends from the lower estuary of the River Severn to the North Atlantic Ocean...
without any particular railway interests or involvement. The Campbell brothers saw how their rival Cardiff-based company Edwards, Robertson developed valuable links between its Yellow Funnel Fleet and the powerful Taff Vale Railway
Taff Vale Railway
The Taff Vale Railway is a railway in Glamorgan, South Wales, and is one of the oldest in Wales. It operated as an independent company from 1836 until 1922, when it became a constituent company of the Great Western Railway...
for through ticketing between South Wales valleys towns and resorts in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
and Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, via Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
and Penarth
Penarth
Penarth is a town and seaside resort in the Vale of Glamorgan , Wales, 5.2 miles south west from the city centre of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff and lying on the north shore of the Severn Estuary at the southern end of Cardiff Bay...
. But by the late 1890s the White Funnel Fleet of P & A Campbell Ltd had taken over the vessels of its Cardiff-based competitors, and the supremacy of the Bristol ships was clear to see.
The Barry Railway fleet
The Barry Railway CompanyBarry Railway Company
The Barry Railway Company was a coal pit owner developed and owned railway company, formed to provide an alternate route for the sea export of coal mined in the South Wales valleys to the existing monopoly of the Taff Vale Railway and Cardiff Docks...
was very much a company created to serve a docks complex for the export of coal. Passenger train operations were secondary to the primary purpose of moving minerals traffic down from the valleys. The company had succeeded in gaining access to numerous valleys already served by other railways in order to tap the abundant minerals traffics of the South Wales coalfield for export through its large new Barry Docks.
Perhaps it was only natural that the Barry interests should seek to challenge those that were perceived as threatening. As Barry Docks complex had taken shape, it was a relatively straightforward matter to extend passenger railway operations from Barry across to Barry Island
Barry Island (Vale of Glamorgan)
Barry Island is a district, peninsula and seaside resort, forming part of the town of Barry in the Vale of Glamorgan, South Wales. It is named after the 6th century Saint Baruc...
for leisure traffic, and then to push further by tunnelling through to what was to become Barry Pier station, immediately adjacent to the main entrance lock to Barry Docks.
Although the Barry Railway Company thought in terms of controlling its own steamship operations from the outset, it was realised that this would meet with opposition from Campbell's at Bristol with its large fleet, and so the Barry Company initially settled for an alliance where by the White Funnel Fleet of steamers served Barry Pier when it opened in 1899.
But it was to be an uneasy alliance, and so the point was soon reached where the Barry Company would feel obliged to go it alone. The struggle that followed was to be both litigious and complicated, as both companies fought from 1905 to 1910 to compete. In 1912, the Barry Railway Company
Barry Railway Company
The Barry Railway Company was a coal pit owner developed and owned railway company, formed to provide an alternate route for the sea export of coal mined in the South Wales valleys to the existing monopoly of the Taff Vale Railway and Cardiff Docks...
sold its remaining three Red Funnel Paddle Steamer
Paddle steamer
A paddle steamer is a steamship or riverboat, powered by a steam engine, using paddle wheels to propel it through the water. In antiquity, Paddle wheelers followed the development of poles, oars and sails, where the first uses were wheelers driven by animals or humans...
's to P & A Campbell. The service continued under Campbell's control very well until post World War, as the motor car over took the Paddle Steamer service. The service finally ended in the 1970s, after services at Barry Pier had dwindled and were finally given up, and the pontoon dismantled.
Brighton & the South Coast
In 1902 Campbells extended its operation by the purchase of the Brighton, Wothing & South Coast Steamship Company; two vessels were placed at Brighton from that season. From 1906 until WWI three ships were stationed each year to work the south coast resorts, including EastbourneEastbourne
Eastbourne is a large town and borough in East Sussex, on the south coast of England between Brighton and Hastings. The town is situated at the eastern end of the chalk South Downs alongside the high cliff at Beachy Head...
and Hastings
Hastings
Hastings is a town and borough in the county of East Sussex on the south coast of England. The town is located east of the county town of Lewes and south east of London, and has an estimated population of 86,900....
; a return to those services continued from 1923 until WWII started in September 1939. Among the excursions were trips to cross-Channel ports. After the war services were resumed, but the period of paddle steamer cruising was ending by the 1950s and the final season in 1957 was undertaken by motor vessel.
World War II
During World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, boats from both of Campbell's fleets were used for transporting both troops and military equipment, and latterly used for mine sweeping, throughout the conflict.
The most covered use of a Campbell's boat was the role of the South Wales paddle steamer Glen Gower. She took part in the Dunkirk evacuation, Operation Dynamo
Operation Dynamo
The Dunkirk evacuation, commonly known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, code-named Operation Dynamo by the British, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 26 May and the early hours of 3 June 1940, because the British, French and Belgian troops were...
, and is featured in the newsreel coverage of Pathé
Pathé
Pathé or Pathé Frères is the name of various French businesses founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France.-History:...
. Reaching Dunkirk in the most dangerous period in early June, she was unable to reach the port or pier so rescued soldiers straight from the beach. Moored under intense Nazi artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
fire, during her loading she was holed beneath the water line, but managed to make it back to Harwich
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England and one of the Haven ports, located on the coast with the North Sea to the east. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the northeast, Ipswich to the northwest, Colchester to the southwest and Clacton-on-Sea to the south...
. She survived the war, and was scrapped in 1960.
Three others Campbell boats were not so lucky. The southcoast based Brighton Queen and Brighton Belle were sunk, while the Bristol Channel based Devonia was so severely damage by shell fire, she was left stranded and abandoned on the beach at Dunkirk.
End of operations
The growth of the popularity in the motor car lead to a significant decline in the excursion trade which, allied to increasing operation costs, led to the remaining fleet members being laid up or disposed of. After the 1959 summer season a receiverReceivership
In law, receivership is the situation in which an institution or enterprise is being held by a receiver, a person "placed in the custodial responsibility for the property of others, including tangible and intangible assets and rights." The receivership remedy is an equitable remedy that emerged in...
was appointed, and the company sold to George Nott Industries, part of the Townsend Ferries group. It was suggested that Townsend bought the business as a tax loss, but the business entered the 1960 season with two operational steamers (Cardiff Queen and Bristol Queen), and another one (Devonia) laid up. After Bristol Queen was withdrawn in 1967, the company chartered the Balmoral, which continued sailings until 1980.
Sources
- Collard, C (2001) "White Funnels: The story of P&A Campbell Steamers, 1946-1968," Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-2147-6
- Collard, C (2006) "P&A Campbell Steamers: The Victorian Era," Tempus Publishing. ISBN 0-7524-3863-8
- The Railway Year Book for 1912 (Railway Publishing Co Ltd)