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British shipping companies (J,K)

J.I. Jacobs & Co., Ltd.
George Jaques & Co.
Kristian Jebsen - Jebsens (U.K.) Ltd.
E. Jenkins
Jenkins Bros.
R. Jobson & Co.
Frederick Jones
Richard W. Jones & Co
Jones, Hallett & Co.
Wm. Just & Co.
Kaye, Son & Co.
John Kelly
W.S. Kennaugh & Co.
King Line
J.P. Knight Ltd.
Kyle Shipping Co., Ltd.
Kyle Transport Co. Ltd.

See also:

J.I. Jacobs & Co., Ltd.

image by Jarig Bakker

J.I. Jacobs & Co., Ltd., London; blue flag, white Magen David, white "J".
Source: Brown's Flags and Funnels of British and Foreign Steamship Companies [Wedge 1926]
Jarig Bakker, 20 February 2005

George Jaques & Co.

image by Ivan Sache, 29 April 2008

Lloyds Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of "George Jaques & Co." (#323, p. 52), a company based in Newcastle-on-Tyne, as white with a red saltire, not reaching the edges of the flag.
Ivan Sache, 29 April 2008

Kristian Jebsen - Jebsens (U.K.) Ltd.

image by Jarig Bakker, 30 November 2005

Kristian Jebsen - Jebsens (U.K.) Ltd., London - horizontal blue-white-blue flag; in center blue horizontal zigzag-line. (Bergen is mentioned too as base; guess it's the same company as Jebsen in Norway).
Source: Loughran (1995)
Jarig Bakker, 30 November 2005

E. Jenkins

image by Ivan Sache, 19 April 2008

Lloyds Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of "E. Jenkins & Co." (#254, p. 50), a company based in Cardiff (Wales), as red with a white "J" in the middle.
Ivan Sache, 19 April 2008

Jenkins Bros.

image by Ivan Sache, 21 March 2008

Lloyds Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of"Jenkins Bros." (#62, p. 39), a company based in Cardiff (Wales), as
red with a white lozenge charged with the black letters letters "J.B.".

In his "Short histories of some Cardiff area shipping companies", Bob Sanders introduces the company as follows:
"James Jenkins and his brother-in-law David Jenkins, both Master Mariners from Aberporth who had been employed by Evan Thomas, Radcliffe of Cardiff, set up this company when W.J. Williams left their previous partnership in the Gathorne Steamship Co. In 1906 they bought the Glamorgan and in 1907 the Cardigan was added and by the beginning of the First World War the company had five ships. All but one were lost during the war and in 1919 David Jenkins died and the company was wound up."
http://www.angelfire.com/de/BobSanders/SHIPCO.html
In January 1985, the National Museum of Wales published "Jenkins Brothers of Cardiff - A Ceredigion Family's Shipping Ventures", by David Jenkins.
Ivan Sache, 12 March 2008

R. Jobson & Co.

image by Ivan Sache, 21 March 2008

Lloyds Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of "R. Jobson & Co." (#63, p. 39), a company based in West Hartlepool, as blue with the white letters "J&Co".
Ivan Sache, 21 March 2008

Frederick Jones

image by Ivan Sache, 16 March 2008

Lloyds Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of "Frederick Jones" (#40, p. 38), a company based in Cardiff (Wales), as blue with the white letters "FJ".

In his "Short histories of some Cardiff area shipping companies", Bob Sanders introduces Frederick Jones, as the owner of "The Abbey Line",
as follows:
"Frederick Jones, a Cardiffian, born in 1868, though of a Cardiganshire family, served his apprenticeship with the Tubal Cain Foundry. He was a member of Charles Street Congregational Church where he came into contact with shipowner John Marychurch resulting in the offer of a post as engineer on one of Marychurch's ships. In 1899 he became Marine Superintendent with Capel & Co. of Cardiff. In 1907 Jones set up his own business with the ship Melrose Abbey. In 1909 he added a newly built ship, the Tintern Abbey. The company continued to operate a number of ships until 1971, though latterly with only one ship (a later Tintern Abbey). The company continues to exist in Cardiff, however, run by his son as an investment company. All the company's ships had been named after Abbeys."
Source: http://www.angelfire.com/de/BobSanders/SHIPCO.html
Ivan Sache, 16 March 2008

Richard W. Jones & Co

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 Richard W. Jones & Co. Newport, Monmouth. A white, rectangular flag with a red border and the initials 'RWJ & Co.' in red across the centre. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn."
Jarig Bakker, 25 August 2004

Jones, Hallett & Co.

image by Ivan Sache, 29 April 2008

Lloyds Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of "Jones, Hallett & Co." (#330, p. 52), a company based in Cardiff (Wales), as red with a blue diamond charged with a white "JH" cypher.
Ivan Sache, 29 April 2008

Wm. Just & Co.

image by Ivan Sache, 29 March 2008

Lloyds Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of "Wm. Just & Co. (Bank Shipping Co., Ltd." (#121, p. 42), a company based in Liverpool, as horizontally divided red-white-red and the blue letters "WJ&Co" in the white stripe.
Ivan Sache, 29 March 2008

Kaye, Son & Co.

image by James Dignan

Based on Sampson (1957)
James Dignan, 19 October 2003

Description: Blue; white K inside white diamond. In "All about Ships and Shipping" the 'diamond' is square.
Jarig Bakker, 19 October 2003

Phil Nelson, 19 October 2003

John Kelly

image by James Dignan

Based on Sampson (1957)
James Dignan, 12 October 2003

Based in Belfast. Originally started in 1861 to transport coal. Merged in 1993 with Lanes Group Ltd. Currently known as Kelly Fuels.
Phil Nelson, 12 October 2003

Post card collection confirms this design but shows a centered and slightly larger "K".
António Martins-Tuválkin, 21 February 2007

W.S. Kennaugh & Co.

image located by Jan Mertens, 17 November 2008

The British shipping company W.S. Kennaugh & Co. flew a simple house flag, blue with a yellow saltire, as seen in the image above from the on-line 1912 Lloyds Flags & Funnels ( http://library.mysticseaport.org/initiative/ImPage.cfm?PageNum=58&BibId=11061&ChapterId=8) as no. 1191 ‘W.S. Kennaugh & Co., Liverpool’.
The name Kennaugh appears at Whitehaven, a port in the N.W. of England opposite the Isle of Man, at the end of the 19th century: managers of local ships, chandlers, sail and rope makers. The firm was founded in 1905 and later moved to Liverpool.

A quote from a short article (drawing of house flag) at http://www.benjidog.co.uk/allen/index_files/Page5114.htm:
“They started with steam coasters and built up a good reputation. The company’s ships were named with a suffix of Force. (The word force means waterfall in the North of England). The company was renowned for the care with which it maintained its vessels and one of their vessels is reported as having survived for 82 years. At one time Kennaugh had twenty steam ships, four deep-water sailing ships and three managed ships. (…) In 1954 (three) Kennaugh ships were still operational (…) The company ceased to exist in 1959.”
Jan Mertens, 17 November 2008

King Line

image located by Jan Mertens, 4 January 2006

The King Line existed for quite a long time as recounted by Alan Mallett, author of “Idyll of the Kings – History of the King Line 1889-1979”:

Source: http://worldshipsociety.org/publications/searchdetails.php?RecordNumber=202

“The King Line is well-known as the tramp and bulk-carrier arm of the British and Commonwealth Group, but how many people know that it has a long and interesting history which is closely bound up with the rise and fall of that giant of shipping Lord Kylsant. 'Idyll of the Kings' includes much fascinating historical material on both the King Line and its founder -- the design and day to day management of its ships, the adoption of the diesel engine in the 1920s and the economies this brought, the changes following the resignation and later trial of Kylsant, and the Line's incorporation in the British and Commonwealth Group.”

For 1920s read 1925 (moving away from steam); a further fact is the takeover by Union-Castle in 1949. I do not know exactly how the firm came to its end, if that is the right expression. In any case Owen Phillips, founder of the company, became a shipping and shipbuilding tycoon and was made Lord Kylsant. Under this name he became notorious as he had used fraudulent means to financially bolster his shipping empire.

A quote from the Red Duster site (http://www.red-duster.co.uk/GLEN3.htm):
“by 1929 he was experiencing financial problems. (…) Eventually the group was unable to repay Government loans made available for the construction of ships under the Trade Facilities Act.
In 1930 a Government enquiry recommended that the Kylsant Group should negotiate with its bankers and raise funds to repay the loans but when, by July of the same year, nothing was forthcoming Lord Kylsant was divested of his powers and the group put into the hands of three Trustees. By 1931 the Kylsant empire was bankrupt and the affairs of the group, which included Union Castle Line, White Star Line, Elder, Dempster and both Glen and Shire Lines had to be unravelled, a complicated but not impossible problem. Lord Kylsant was found guilty of making fraudulent statements to attract working capital.”

See also http://www.users.on.net/~snicol/story/index3.html for remarks on Lord Kylsant, relevant for the family arms formed the basis for the house flag. To begin with, see the augmented Phillips arms on the first bookplate. Compare with no. 1410 of the on-line 1912 Lloyds Flags & Funnels, third of first row at www.mysticseaport.org, i.e. ‘King Line, Ltd. (Phillips, Phillips & Co., Ltd.), London’ and the clickable image (ca. 1951) shown by the National Maritime Museum,
Greenwich: “The house flag of King Line Ltd, London. A white swallow-tailed burgee bearing a crest of a grey rampant lion, gorged with a ducal coronet and a chain attached.”

As in Lloyds 1912, the lion seems to have an intermediate colour (or is described as such) whereas the picture on A. Mallett’s monograph is more satisfactory: black (sable) lion, armed and langued gules. (This would have to be checked against a blazon of the arms.) The torse or wreath has only one colour however and there is also the regrettable Goldeneye…
Jan Mertens, 4 January 2006

J.P. Knight Ltd.

image by Jarig Bakker, 20 September 2005

J.P. Knight Ltd., Rochester - blue flag, white "K".
Source: Loughran (1995)
Jarig Bakker, 20 September 2005

Kyle Shipping Co. Ltd.

image by Phil Nelson, 11 April 2000

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

Kyle Transport Co. Ltd.

image by Ivan Sache, 22 March 2008

Lloyds Book of House Flags and Funnels (1912) shows the house flag of "Kyle Transport Co. Ltd. (W.H. Bicket & Co.)" (#65, p. 40), a company based in Liverpool, as red with a blue square diamond charged with the white letter "K".
Ivan Sache, 22 March 2008