William Robertson Shipowners Ltd, 1949-1997

Identity area

Type of entity

Corporate body

Authorized form of name

William Robertson Shipowners Ltd, 1949-1997

Parallel form(s) of name

    Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

      Other form(s) of name

      • Gem Line Ltd (1958-1971)
      • Gem Line (Management) Ltd (1987-1997)

      Identifiers for corporate bodies

      Description area

      Dates of existence

      1949-1997

      History

      William Robertson Shipowners Ltd, a private limited company, was formed in 1949 to take over the assets of the shipping business, William Robertson, including the ownership of its fleet of steamers and motor ships. The management of the fleet, however, was left in the hands of the old William Robertson partnership.

      In 1952, Kneeshaw Lupton & Company Ltd, a quarrying business which for many years had been closely associated with the business, was made a wholly owned subsidiary of William Robertson Shipowners Ltd.

      In the 1950s, the company invested in the Norwegian shipping line, Thor Thoresen Linje.

      In 1958, the company changed its name to Gem Line Ltd. At the same time, the old William Robertson partnership was wound up and a new company, called William Robertson Shipowners Ltd, was formed to continue the management of the fleet.

      The business diversified into geological research and consultancy, forming the Robertson Research Company Ltd in 1961. In the same year, it also formed the Ailsa Craig Quarrying Company Ltd.

      In the 1950s and 1960s, the company invested in new and larger ships, but by 1970 the coastal trade had declined, with the advent of vast containers using large, deep water ports. As a result, in 1970, the company was taken over by Powell Duffryn Ltd, the owners of Stephenson Clarke Shipping Ltd. In 1971, following the takeover, the company reverted to its former name, William Robertson Shipowners Ltd. In 1976, the company was formally made a subsidiary of Stephenson Clarke Shipping Ltd, although it continued to trade under its own name. In 1987, it changed its name to Gem Line (Management) Ltd. The company was dissolved in 1997.

      Places

      Legal status

      Functions, occupations and activities

      Mandates/sources of authority

      Internal structures/genealogy

      General context

      Relationships area

      Related entity

      Kneeshaw, Lupton and Company Ltd (1922-)

      Identifier of related entity

      C0255

      Category of relationship

      hierarchical

      Dates of relationship

      1952-1977

      Description of relationship

      Kneeshaw, Lupton and Company Ltd was a subsidiary of William Robertson Shipowners Ltd.

      Related entity

      William Robertson Shipowners Ltd, 1958-1975 (1958-1975)

      Identifier of related entity

      C0257

      Category of relationship

      associative

      Dates of relationship

      1958-1975

      Description of relationship

      William Robertson Shipowners Ltd (1958-1975) managed the fleet for William Robertson Shipowners Ltd (1949-1997). In 1969, the former became a subsidiary of the latter. In 1971, the entire business of the former was transferred to the latter.

      Related entity

      William Robertson, shipowners (1852-1958)

      Identifier of related entity

      C0254

      Category of relationship

      associative

      Dates of relationship

      1949-1958

      Description of relationship

      In 1949, William Robertson Shipowners Ltd was formed to take over the assets of the William Robertson partnership. The management of the fleet was left in the hands of the partnership.

      Related entity

      Robertson Research Company Ltd (Formed 1961)

      Identifier of related entity

      C0256

      Category of relationship

      associative

      Dates of relationship

      Description of relationship

      Robertson Research Company Ltd carried out geological research and consultancy for William Robertson Shipowners Ltd.

      Related entity

      Robertson Group plc (1975-c 2004)

      Identifier of related entity

      C0038

      Category of relationship

      associative

      Dates of relationship

      Description of relationship

      Robertson Group plc was the controlling organisation of the Robertson Research Group, the geological research and consultancy arm of William Robertson Shipowners Ltd.

      Related entity

      Robertson, William Francis, 1920-2005, shipowner (1920 - 2005)

      Identifier of related entity

      P0126

      Category of relationship

      associative

      Dates of relationship

      Description of relationship

      Related entity

      Robertson Research Group (1961-c 2004)

      Identifier of related entity

      C0272

      Category of relationship

      associative

      Dates of relationship

      Description of relationship

      Robertson Research Group was the geological research and consultancy arm of William Robertson Shipowners Ltd.

      Access points area

      Subject access points

      Place access points

      Occupations

      Control area

      Authority record identifier

      C0026

      Institution identifier

      GB 249

      Rules and/or conventions used

      ISAAR(CPF): International Standard Archival Authority Record for Corporate Bodies, Persons and Families, International Council on Archives (2nd edition, 2003); Rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names, National Council on Archives (1997).

      Status

      Level of detail

      Dates of creation, revision and deletion

      Created by Victoria Peters, October 2010.

      Language(s)

        Script(s)

          Sources

          Maintenance notes