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J. Samuel White

October 15, 2023

J. Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes, taking its name from John Samuel White (1838–1915).

J. Samuel White
TypePrivate company
IndustryShipbuilding
Founded
  • 1763 (roots)
  • 1815 (official)
Defunct1981
HeadquartersCowes, Isle of Wight

It came to prominence during the Victorian era. During the 20th century it built destroyers and other naval craft for both the Royal Navy and export customers; they also built lifeboats and various types of commercial vessels.

(It is worth mentioning that there was another 'White's engineers and shipyard' of Cowes, that of William White & Sons (1883 - 1929); the use of the term 'White's of Cowes' can, and does, lead to confusion.[1])

History Edit

 
Faulknor-class flotilla leader, built for Chile, as the British HMS Botha

The family had a long tradition of shipbuilding in Kent, with James White constructing the cutter Lapwing for the Royal Navy at Broadstairs in 1763–1764, as well as fast vessels for the Revenue services and fishing smacks, and even a number of West Indiamen. At least three generations of the White family business undertook shipbuilding before Thomas White, (1773–1859) the grandfather of John Samuel White, moved from Broadstairs, to East Cowes on the northern coast of the Isle of Wight in 1802, where he acquired the shipbuilding site on the east bank of the River Medina where there was already more than a century of shipbuilding tradition. In the closing years of the Napoleonic War he began work on what would become the 'Thetis' Yard across the river on the West bank on the 'salterns' and marsh between the Medina and Arctic roads. It opened officially on 1 October 1815. J. S. White subsequently rebuilt the east bank site which in 1825 became the Falcon Yard.

 
Argentine destroyer Tucumán

Records indicate that by the 1850s J. S. White's docks with its steam sawmills and engine shops, and the mast and block shops, provided work for around 500 craftsmen. J Samuel White expanded still further in 1899. It rapidly became a world leader in the design and construction of small- to medium-sized naval and merchant ships, and also built numerous smaller craft, including more than 130 lifeboats for the RNLI, more than any other builder.

Sir Barnes Wallis, later famous as an aeronautical engineer, worked as a draughtsman for the company at the start of his career, before moving to Vickers to design airships.

 
The hammerhead crane

An expansion of the yard in 1911 led to the purchase of a large 80 ton hammerhead crane from Babcock & Wilcox of Renfrew, Scotland.[2] The crane was installed in 1912 on the Cowes side of the river and still survives, it was last used in 2004, and now Grade II* listed.[3]

At the height of its shipbuilding activities, J. S. White had shipbuilding slipways on the eastern side of the River Medina at East Cowes and fitting-out quays, engineering works and administration offices at Cowes on the western side of the river.

In 1922 J. S. White established the 'Island Transport Co. Ltd.' with barges running from Southampton, (and initially Portsmouth) to East Cowes to carry supplies for the shipyards. Any spare capacity was used to carry general, commercial cargo. After the shipyards closed in 1965, the trade was just general cargo. The Island Transport company was sold to the Red Funnel Group in 1968.[4]

At some time, J. S. White acquired the Henry Bannister, rope making business of Cowes.[5]

In 1954 J. S. White acquired the shipbuilding business of William Weatherheads at Cockenzie, Scotland. the business was carried on under the name 'William Weatherhead & Sons (1954) Ltd' until 1965 when it was renamed 'J. Samuel White (Scotland) Ltd'.[6]

In 1961 J. S. White acquired the postcard and greeting-card printing business of J. Arthur Dixon with production facilities at Newport, Isle of Wight and at Inverness, Scotland. The company was sold in 1974 to the Dickinson Robinson Group.[7]

With the regular construction of turbines, boilers, steam and diesel engines, the Cowes site became an engineering works.

With the closing of the shipbuilding section in 1965,[5] the works on the East Cowes side of the river were sold to the British Hovercraft Corporation in 1966.[8]

In 1968 the company received a take-over bid for the whole group of companies from the Foreign and Colonial Investment Trust;[9] by December 1968 the take-over was complete - at this time it was reported that there were 1000 people employed over the group.[10]

In 1971 Foreign and Colonial Investment Trust sold the company to Spectrol Holdings, a UK subsidiary of the Carrier Corporation of Syracuse, New York.[11]

By 1979 the company had been renamed Elliott Turbomachinery Ltd and employed almost 850 people;[12] and the American parent company, the Carrier Corporation, was taken over by another American company, United Technologies.[13]

In 1981 the company finally ceased trading and the sites were closed.

"Sammy" White built well over two thousand vessels at their various shipyards at East Cowes between 1803 and their closure in 1963.

Naval vessels Edit

An order in 1911 of six destroyers for the Chilean Navy, these destroyers were fitted with J. S. White's own design of water-tube boiler, the White-Forster boiler. These were similar to contemporary three-drum boiler designs, but had a remarkable number of smaller tubes.

Paul Hyland describes how J. S. White had grown during the succeeding century:

 
Polish destroyer ORP Grom

In May 1942 the Polish destroyer 'Blyskawica' was being urgently refitted at J Samuel White where it had been launched. On the night of 4 May, the Luftwaffe let fly with 200 tons of bombs, a wave of incendiaries followed by high explosives. The Blyskawica left her moorings, dropped anchor outside the harbour, and retaliated all night with such vehemence that her guns had to be doused with water, and more ammunition had to be ferried across from Portsmouth but for her, the 800 casualties and thousands of damaged buildings, including 100,000 square feet (10,000 m2) of wreckage at J. S. Whites, would have been far worse.

[citation needed]

Naval vessels built by J. Samuel White (vessels in some classes also built by other shipbuilders) include (in date order):

Lifeboat production Edit

Over the years, J. S. White's produced lifeboats for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) and other users.

Their production included:

Aircraft production Edit

In 1912 the company began constructing aircraft at East Cowes in a "Gridiron Shed" on the bank of the River Medina with Howard T. Wright as general manager and chief designer. Because of its location on the Isle of Wight the company choose the name Wight Aircraft.[14]

Between 1912 and 1916 the company moved its aircraft manufacturing facilities across the river to Cowes and built a number of seaplanes:[14]

In 1913 the company produced a flying boat which was displayed at the London Air Show at Olympia in 1913.[15] The company also manufactured 110 Short Type 184 aircraft designed by Short Brothers.

Through 1916–1917 the company developed the Wight Quadruplane prototype fighter. This aircraft was tested at Martlesham Heath from 1917, and was written off in 1918.[16]

Commercial vessels Edit

J. S. White's built ships for commercial customers, including:

References Edit

  1. ^ "Built by White's ?". Bartie's World. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "The Centenary of the Cowes Hammerhead Crane 1912–2012". Wootton Bridge Historical.
  3. ^ "The Cowes Hammerhead Crane Trust".
  4. ^ "Town Quay - The Motor Barges" (PDF). Southampton Branch World Ship Society. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "300 Years of Shipbuilding at Cowes". Isle of Wight County Press. 4 December 1965. p. 12.
  6. ^ "Cockenzie & Port Seton | Economy". East Lothian Fourth. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  7. ^ "J Arthur Dixon". Wootton Bridge Historical. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  8. ^ East Cowes- A town of Ships, Castles, Industry and Invention. The Dovecote Press. 2011. p. 83. ISBN 978-1-904-34990-7.
  9. ^ "Take-Over Bid for J. S. White". Isle of Wight County Press. 26 October 1968. p. 11.
  10. ^ "J. S. White and Co. take over". Isle of Wight County Press. 21 December 1968. p. 12.
  11. ^ "Expansion programme for J. Samuel White and Co., Ltd". Isle of Wight County Press. 20 November 1971. p. 14.
  12. ^ "Successful IW firm expects even brighter future". Isle of Wight County Press. 9 June 1979. p. 3.
  13. ^ "Prospect of more work at a Cowes Factory". Isle of Wight County Press. 13 January 1979. p. 10.
  14. ^ a b "J.SAMUEL WHITE & CO". hampshireairfields.co.uk. ISLE OF WIGHT AVIATION. 8 May 2013. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  15. ^ Flying Boats of the Solent, Norman Hull. ISBN 1-85794-161-6
  16. ^ Green, W. & Swanborough, G.; "The Complete Book of Fighters", Salamander (1994).
  17. ^ "LIGHT VESSEL 86 NORE". National Historic Ships UK. Retrieved 12 September 2022.

Publications Edit

External links Edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to J. Samuel White.
  • Pictures of some of J. Samuel White's ships
  • Naval Ships of J. Samuel White
  • Commercial Ships of J. Samuel White
  • Lifeboats of J. Samuel White
  • Photos of J. Samuel White's fitting out crane

October 15, 2023
samuel, white, british, shipbuilding, firm, based, cowes, taking, name, from, john, samuel, white, 1838, 1915, typeprivate, companyindustryshipbuildingfounded1763, roots, 1815, official, defunct1981headquarterscowes, isle, wightit, came, prominence, during, vi. J Samuel White was a British shipbuilding firm based in Cowes taking its name from John Samuel White 1838 1915 J Samuel WhiteTypePrivate companyIndustryShipbuildingFounded1763 roots 1815 official Defunct1981HeadquartersCowes Isle of WightIt came to prominence during the Victorian era During the 20th century it built destroyers and other naval craft for both the Royal Navy and export customers they also built lifeboats and various types of commercial vessels It is worth mentioning that there was another White s engineers and shipyard of Cowes that of William White amp Sons 1883 1929 the use of the term White s of Cowes can and does lead to confusion 1 Contents 1 History 2 Naval vessels 3 Lifeboat production 4 Aircraft production 5 Commercial vessels 6 References 7 Publications 8 External linksHistory Edit nbsp Faulknor class flotilla leader built for Chile as the British HMS BothaThe family had a long tradition of shipbuilding in Kent with James White constructing the cutter Lapwing for the Royal Navy at Broadstairs in 1763 1764 as well as fast vessels for the Revenue services and fishing smacks and even a number of West Indiamen At least three generations of the White family business undertook shipbuilding before Thomas White 1773 1859 the grandfather of John Samuel White moved from Broadstairs to East Cowes on the northern coast of the Isle of Wight in 1802 where he acquired the shipbuilding site on the east bank of the River Medina where there was already more than a century of shipbuilding tradition In the closing years of the Napoleonic War he began work on what would become the Thetis Yard across the river on the West bank on the salterns and marsh between the Medina and Arctic roads It opened officially on 1 October 1815 J S White subsequently rebuilt the east bank site which in 1825 became the Falcon Yard nbsp Argentine destroyer TucumanRecords indicate that by the 1850s J S White s docks with its steam sawmills and engine shops and the mast and block shops provided work for around 500 craftsmen J Samuel White expanded still further in 1899 It rapidly became a world leader in the design and construction of small to medium sized naval and merchant ships and also built numerous smaller craft including more than 130 lifeboats for the RNLI more than any other builder Sir Barnes Wallis later famous as an aeronautical engineer worked as a draughtsman for the company at the start of his career before moving to Vickers to design airships nbsp The hammerhead craneAn expansion of the yard in 1911 led to the purchase of a large 80 ton hammerhead crane from Babcock amp Wilcox of Renfrew Scotland 2 The crane was installed in 1912 on the Cowes side of the river and still survives it was last used in 2004 and now Grade II listed 3 At the height of its shipbuilding activities J S White had shipbuilding slipways on the eastern side of the River Medina at East Cowes and fitting out quays engineering works and administration offices at Cowes on the western side of the river In 1922 J S White established the Island Transport Co Ltd with barges running from Southampton and initially Portsmouth to East Cowes to carry supplies for the shipyards Any spare capacity was used to carry general commercial cargo After the shipyards closed in 1965 the trade was just general cargo The Island Transport company was sold to the Red Funnel Group in 1968 4 At some time J S White acquired the Henry Bannister rope making business of Cowes 5 In 1954 J S White acquired the shipbuilding business of William Weatherheads at Cockenzie Scotland the business was carried on under the name William Weatherhead amp Sons 1954 Ltd until 1965 when it was renamed J Samuel White Scotland Ltd 6 In 1961 J S White acquired the postcard and greeting card printing business of J Arthur Dixon with production facilities at Newport Isle of Wight and at Inverness Scotland The company was sold in 1974 to the Dickinson Robinson Group 7 With the regular construction of turbines boilers steam and diesel engines the Cowes site became an engineering works With the closing of the shipbuilding section in 1965 5 the works on the East Cowes side of the river were sold to the British Hovercraft Corporation in 1966 8 In 1968 the company received a take over bid for the whole group of companies from the Foreign and Colonial Investment Trust 9 by December 1968 the take over was complete at this time it was reported that there were 1000 people employed over the group 10 In 1971 Foreign and Colonial Investment Trust sold the company to Spectrol Holdings a UK subsidiary of the Carrier Corporation of Syracuse New York 11 By 1979 the company had been renamed Elliott Turbomachinery Ltd and employed almost 850 people 12 and the American parent company the Carrier Corporation was taken over by another American company United Technologies 13 In 1981 the company finally ceased trading and the sites were closed Sammy White built well over two thousand vessels at their various shipyards at East Cowes between 1803 and their closure in 1963 Naval vessels EditAn order in 1911 of six destroyers for the Chilean Navy these destroyers were fitted with J S White s own design of water tube boiler the White Forster boiler These were similar to contemporary three drum boiler designs but had a remarkable number of smaller tubes Paul Hyland describes how J S White had grown during the succeeding century nbsp Polish destroyer ORP GromIn May 1942 the Polish destroyer Blyskawica was being urgently refitted at J Samuel White where it had been launched On the night of 4 May the Luftwaffe let fly with 200 tons of bombs a wave of incendiaries followed by high explosives The Blyskawica left her moorings dropped anchor outside the harbour and retaliated all night with such vehemence that her guns had to be doused with water and more ammunition had to be ferried across from Portsmouth but for her the 800 casualties and thousands of damaged buildings including 100 000 square feet 10 000 m2 of wreckage at J S Whites would have been far worse citation needed Naval vessels built by J Samuel White vessels in some classes also built by other shipbuilders include in date order Vigilant class gun vessel 1856 J amp R White HMS TB81 1885 torpedo boat Conflict class destroyer 1895 TB 114 class torpedo boat 1903 1905 River class destroyer 1905 Cricket class coastal destroyer 1906 1908 Tribal class destroyer 1906 1909 Acorn class destroyer otherwise H class 1911 Acheron class destroyer otherwise Admiralty I class 1911 Almirante Lynch class Faulknor class flotilla leader 1912 1914 Originally 6 were ordered for the Chilean Navy 2 were delivered the other 4 purchased by the Royal Navy for use during WW1 after WW1 the 3 surviving vessels were passed on to the Chilean Navy Laforey class destroyer 1913 Marksman class flotilla leader 1915 Admiralty M class destroyer 1915 R class destroyer 1916 S class destroyer 1917 V and W class destroyer 1917 HMS E32 Submarine 1917 HMS F2 Submarine 1917 Landing Craft J S White built a prototype Motor Landing Craft in 1926 Mendoza class destroyer late 1920 s built for the Argentine Navy Bittern class sloop escort vessel 1936 Grom class destroyer 1937 built for the Polish Navy ORP Grom and ORP Blyskawica the latter the oldest preserved destroyer in the world currently 2022 a museum ship in Gdynia Egret class sloop 1938 Kingfisher class sloop 1938 J K and N class destroyer 1939 Type I Hunt class destroyer escort 1939 Type II Hunt class destroyer escort 1939 2 were used by the Polish Navy as ORP Kujawiak L72 and ORP Krakowiak L115 Hunt class destroyer 1940 Q and R class destroyer 1942 British Type III Hunt class destroyer escort 1943 C class destroyer 1943 1945 including HMS Cavalier R73 preserved as a museum ship currently 2022 at Chatham Historic Dockyard Halcyon class minesweeper 1942 1944 Weapon class destroyer 1945 75ft Motor Torpedo Boat date unspecified 1940 s Daring class destroyer 1950 Blackwood class frigate 1952 1957 Ham class minesweeper 1953 1960 Rothesay class frigate 1961 One built for the Royal Navy another for the Royal New Zealand Navy Leander class frigate 1965 HMS Arethusa F38 the last ship built for the Royal Navy by J S White 5 Lifeboat production EditOver the years J S White s produced lifeboats for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution RNLI and other users Their production included Barnett class lifeboats Lamb amp White class lifeboats Liverpool class lifeboat Norfolk and Suffolk class lifeboats Oakley class lifeboats Ramsgate class lifeboats 35ft 6in Self righting motor class lifeboats Surf class lifeboats Watson class lifeboatsAircraft production EditIn 1912 the company began constructing aircraft at East Cowes in a Gridiron Shed on the bank of the River Medina with Howard T Wright as general manager and chief designer Because of its location on the Isle of Wight the company choose the name Wight Aircraft 14 Between 1912 and 1916 the company moved its aircraft manufacturing facilities across the river to Cowes and built a number of seaplanes 14 Wight Pusher Seaplane Wight Twin Wight Seaplane Wight Baby Wight Bomber Wight Converted Seaplane Wight Quadruplane AD Seaplane Type 1000In 1913 the company produced a flying boat which was displayed at the London Air Show at Olympia in 1913 15 The company also manufactured 110 Short Type 184 aircraft designed by Short Brothers Through 1916 1917 the company developed the Wight Quadruplane prototype fighter This aircraft was tested at Martlesham Heath from 1917 and was written off in 1918 16 Commercial vessels EditJ S White s built ships for commercial customers including Crested Eagle a paddle steamer built in 1925 for the General Steam Navigation Company later requisitioned and sunk during the Dunkirk evacuation The Massey Shaw a Thames fireboat 1935 The Woolwich Ferries John Benn 1930 and Will Crooks 1930 Nore Light Vessel 1931 17 Nos 2 and 3 Cowes Floating Bridges 1925 amp 1936 No 1 Sandbanks chain ferry 1926 References Edit Built by White s Bartie s World Retrieved 13 September 2022 The Centenary of the Cowes Hammerhead Crane 1912 2012 Wootton Bridge Historical The Cowes Hammerhead Crane Trust Town Quay The Motor Barges PDF Southampton Branch World Ship Society Retrieved 13 September 2022 a b c 300 Years of Shipbuilding at Cowes Isle of Wight County Press 4 December 1965 p 12 Cockenzie amp Port Seton Economy East Lothian Fourth Retrieved 13 September 2022 J Arthur Dixon Wootton Bridge Historical Retrieved 13 September 2022 East Cowes A town of Ships Castles Industry and Invention The Dovecote Press 2011 p 83 ISBN 978 1 904 34990 7 Take Over Bid for J S White Isle of Wight County Press 26 October 1968 p 11 J S White and Co take over Isle of Wight County Press 21 December 1968 p 12 Expansion programme for J Samuel White and Co Ltd Isle of Wight County Press 20 November 1971 p 14 Successful IW firm expects even brighter future Isle of Wight County Press 9 June 1979 p 3 Prospect of more work at a Cowes Factory Isle of Wight County Press 13 January 1979 p 10 a b J SAMUEL WHITE amp CO hampshireairfields co uk ISLE OF WIGHT AVIATION 8 May 2013 Retrieved 5 September 2015 Flying Boats of the Solent Norman Hull ISBN 1 85794 161 6 Green W amp Swanborough G The Complete Book of Fighters Salamander 1994 LIGHT VESSEL 86 NORE National Historic Ships UK Retrieved 12 September 2022 Publications EditColledge J J Warlow Ben 2006 1969 Ships of the Royal Navy The Complete Record of all Fighting Ships of the Royal Navy Rev ed London Chatham Publishing ISBN 978 1 86176 281 8 David L Williams White s of Cowes Silver Link Publishing 1993 ISBN 1 85794 011 3 External links Edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to J Samuel White Pictures of some of J Samuel White s ships Naval Ships of J Samuel White Commercial Ships of J Samuel White Lifeboats of J Samuel White Photos of J Samuel White s fitting out crane Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title J Samuel White amp oldid 1111330750, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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