Killick Martin & Company
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The company in its previous form was founded in 1861 under the name Killick Martin by Captain James Killick (1816-1889) and James Henry Martin. James Killick was born at the Killick family home, named Whitehall in Cheam, England, in 1816. He first went to sea in 1831, commanding his first ship in 1840. Captain James Killick seafaring background gave him the necessary experience to manage the ship owning side of the business. James Martin, twenty years younger than Killick who had previously worked for Phillips, Shaw & Lowther, which later changed its name to Shaw, Lowther and Maxton (owners of famous clipper ships like Ariel and Titania) concentrated on the running of the office and securing of cargo.
In 1863 the company name was changed to Killick Martin & Company when David William Richie became a partner, a century later incorporated to become Killick Martin & Company Ltd. Presently, the company provides freight forwarding, intermodal and supply chain management services. Since 2017 Killick Martin has been part of the Atlantic Pacific Group Ltd.
History
Ship owning
During the period May 1862 and July 1886 Killick Martin & Company held shares in twenty vessels. The first vessel owned by the company 'Gazelle' was built in 1862. She was primarily a sailing vessel with auxiliary steam power, although registered at Lloyd's as a sailing vessel. Gazelle was sold after only one year in the fleet, and after that the company only owned and operated clipper ships. During its ship owning period Killick Martin & Company's were represented in Hong Kong and China by Jardine Matheson.
Fleet list (whole and part owned ships)
| Years | Name | Built | NRT | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1862-1863 | Gazelle | 1862 | 335 | iron steam ship |
| 1863-1871 | Yang-tsze | 1863 | 688 | composite ship |
| 1864-1866 | Heversham | 1856 | 489 | wooden barque |
| 1865-1868 | Challenger | 1852 | 650 | wooden ship |
| 1865-1870 | Fusi Yama | 1865 | 556 | composite barque |
| 1867-1878 | The Sir Jamsetjee Family | 1863 | 1049 | wooden ship |
| 1868-1881 | Omba | 1868 | 836 | composite ship |
| 1869-1885 | Miako | 1869 | 516 | composite barque |
| 1869-1885 | Osaka | 1869 | 527 | composite barque |
| 1869-1886 | Wylo | 1869 | 799 | composite ship |
| 1872-1875 | Eastern Star | 1866 | 340 | wooden barque |
| 1872-1884 | Elmstone | 1866 | 698 | composite barque |
| 1872-1889 | Hope | 1867 | 454 | iron barque |
| 1873-1885 | John C. Munro | 1862 | 613 | iron ship |
| 1873-1885 | Lothair | 1870 | 794 | composite ship |
| 1874-1885 | Agnes Muir | 1869 | 851 | iron ship |
| 1874-1874 | Maju | 1874 | 918 | iron ship |
| 1875-1885 | Kaisow | 1868 | 795 | composite ship |
| 1875-1886 | Lucia ex Maria Fidelia | 1868 | 640 | composite barque |
| 1877-1879 | Mabel Young | 1877 | 1016 | iron barque |
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In 1885, S.V. Lothair was only one of four tea clippers left afloat (the others were Titania, Blackadder and Cutty Sark) and Lothair herself was lost in 1910. Lothair was owned by Killick Martin & Company 1873-1885. -
S.V. Kaisow, a composite 3 mast clipper was built in 1868 by Robert Steele & Sons, Greenock. Owned by Killick Martin & Co. between 1875-1885.
Ship broking (1861-1999)
The first ship Killick Martin & Company advertised was the 'Tung Yu', advertised in The Times on the 30th May 1861. In their first advertisements they appear as loading brokers alongside Robertson & Company, these two firms along with Shaw Lowther & Maxton were the leading shipbroking firms of the 1860's and 1870's. Shipbroking and chartering activities continued for the next 100 years. In 1975 Killick Martin & Company Ltd ceased active trading on the Baltic Exchange. In 1985 Killick Martin & Company Ltd acquired Wallace Shipping Chartering Ltd an existing Baltic Exchange broking firm which was then renamed Killick Martin Chartering Ltd. The firm was subsequently sold to Howe Robinson Group.
The tea trade (1865-1879)
Killick Martin's ships are recorded as having completed 36 voyages with tea cargoes from Foochow, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Hankow and Yokohama, to London. The first year in which Killick Martin entered the tea trade was 1866 when the vessels Challanger, Fusi Yama and Yang-tsze all completing voyages. Killick Martin also sailed from China and Japan to the American cities of New York and Boston. By the 1878-79 season however steamers had started to take over from sailing vessels on the tea trade to London due to improvements in their reliability, speed and the opening of the Suez Cannel. The Far East Freight Conference which came into existence in 1879 may also have been a factor. Two Killick Martin vessels completed journeys during this last 'tea' season for Killick Martin, Yang-tsze from Foochow, and Wylo from Shanghai to London.
Challenger's tea races
The clipper ship Challenger built in 1852 by Richard Green was Captained by James Killick from her launch in 1852. Under Captain Killick's command Challenger loaded tea at Shanghai on 28th July 1852 and set for London, calling in at Anjer, where she met the American ship, Challenge, which was set for London, with a cargo of tea from Canton. The Challenge was a larger vessel of 2,000 tones, an extreme clipper built expressly for speed and capacity, and was the largest clipper built by the Americans to date. A race to London was commenced by the two vessels, the smaller British clipper arriving in London two days ahead of her larger rival. The news of the British win inspired the efforts of British owners to compete with the Americans and capture the China tea trade. In 1865 Challenger was purchased by Killick Martin & Company and operated by them until 1868.
On the 8th August 1853 Captain James Killick commenced another race with Challenger against the Amercian clipper Nightingale from Shanghai. Challenger reached Deal on the 26th November, 2 days earlier than Nightingale.
Under Captain James Killick command Challenger took an average journey time from Shanghai and Hankow was of 115 days. After he relinquished command this extended to an average of 129 days.
Liner agents (1883-1999)
Killick Martin & Company were appointed as agents for Ben Line Steamers by William Thompson & Company in 1883, and within a few weeks loaded their first ship 'Benarty' in Antwerp. The timing for their appointment as agents was ideal in that it assisted with the transition of Killick Martin's business from ship owning to becoming liner agents. The relationship with Ben Line was to remain in place for over 100 years. After the first world war Alfred Holt & Sons started a service known as the Far East Line and appointed Killick Martin as their agents. During the period between the first and second world wars other shipping lines also came to appoint Killick Martin as their agents. These included Blue Star Line, Elder Dempster, Blue Funnel Line, and Glen Line.
After the Second World War Killick Martin's liner shipping business continued to expand. More shipping lines appointed Killick Martin as their agents. These included, Black Star Line of Ghana, Nigerian National Shipping Company, Geest Line, Lykes Line, the Kuwait Shipping Company (which was merged into United Arab Shipping Company UASC), Compagnie de Navigation Algerienne Nationale (CNAN) and Compagnie Marocaine de Navigation (Moroccan Line - COMANAV).
Associated Container Transport (ACT) was created in January 1966 by five British shipping companies - Ben Line, Blue Star Line, Cunard (Port Line), Ellerman Lines and the Harrison Line. It was formed as a rival to Overseas Container Line. ACT was set up to allow its member lines to share the investment needed to acquire containerised vessels to replace existing conventional liner services. Containerised services began in the Far East trade towards the end of 1971. Ben Line and Ellerman Lines together formed Ben Line Containers (BLC) and appointed Killick Martin & Company Ltd as its agents. With these developments Killick Martin & Company found itself at the centre of the shipping industries transition into containerisation. Ben Line Containers was sold to the East Asiatic Company (EAC) of Denmark in 1992, and Killick Martin & Company Ltd's agency terminated with the subsequent sale of East Asiatic Company to A.P. Moller / Maersk Line in 1993.
During 1990's Killick Martin & Company Ltd was sold to a consortium of European liner agents; De Keyser Thornton of Antwerp, Belgium, D.Burger & Zoon, based in Rotterdam and Karl Geuther of Bremen. Killick Martin & Company Ltd in this form went into administration in 1999.
Freight forwarding
Freight forwarding services commenced within Killick Martin & Company Ltd during the early 1990's, and after the liner agency activities ceased in 1999 with the administration of the company, the forwarding services continued in the form of a new company made up from former employees of Killick Martin & Company Ltd who were able to transfer the company name, employees, and customers. This company continued to trade until 2016 when its business transferred to Atlantic Pacific Group Ltd.
Associated companies
- Elder Dempster
- Ben Line
- Lykes Line Lykes Brothers Steamship Company
- Palm Line
- United Arab Shipping Company (UASC)
- Jardine Matheson
Books, artwork & buildings
The China Bird: The History of Captain Killick; and the Firm he Founded: Killick Martin & Company was a book written in 1961 by David R McGregor. This was David R McGregor first book. He went onto become one of the world's leading maritime authors and his works and collection of over 6500 items forms the basis of The McGregor Library at the Brunel Institute at the SS Great Britain in Bristol, U.K.
Killick Martin & Company's clipper ships from the period 1862-1886 have been the source of inspiration for paintings by some of the world's leading maritime artists such as Montague Dawson RMSA, FRSA (1890–1973) and James Brereton. (1954-).
Captain James Killick was born in a Grade II* listed Tudor house on Historic England's National Heritage List.[1] called Whitehall, built around 1500, in Cheam, Surrey. The house remained the property of the Killick Family from 1741 to 1963, when it was bought by the London Borough of Sutton. Following restoration, it was opened to the public as a historic building in 1978, and is run by the London Borough of Sutton and the Friends of Whitehall.
References
China Bird: Killick Martin was commissioned by the company 1961 as a centenary project.
The China Bird / The History of Captain Killick and the firm he founded: Killick Martin & Company / First Edition by David MacGregor (1961)
- MacGregor, David R. (1986). The China Bird: The History of Captain Killick, and the Firm He Founded, Killick Martin & Company (2nd ed.). Conway Maritime Press. ISBN 978-0-85177-381-0. Search this book on
The Tea Clippers by David MacGregor (1952, reprinted 1972)
The Tea Clippers 1833-1875 by David MacGregor (1983 enlarged and revised) ISBN: 0 85177 256 0
Clipper Ships by David MacGregor (1979) ISBN: 10: 0852426186
https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/1091.html, The company flag on display in The National Maritime Museum in Greenwich, London
https://www.sutton.gov.uk/news/article/264/historic_tudor_property_to_reopen_following_national_lottery_funded_restoration The Killick family home, owned by the family for over 175 years, where Captain James Killick was born is now owned by Sutton Council. It's English National Heritage listed, and with the help of National Lottery grant of £1.9 Million just been restored.
https://www.joc.com/its-not-always-tough-who-get-going_19990613.html April 2019 article on Killick Martin published by the Journal of Commerce describing them as one of the largest ships agencies in Britain and possibly the World.
https://discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/C3678802 A Notable and Significant court case from The National Archives
http://www.tireegenealogy.com/ClipperShips.pdf Article on Clippers of the 19th Century
http://www.red-duster.co.uk/wp/category/days-of-sail/ Recent article from The Red Duster, the magazine of the Royal British Merchant Navy Another fast clipper was the Lothair built by the Walker yard on the Thames for Killick Martin & Co in 1870, and one of the last composite vessels to be built. On one occasion she was observed to be travelling at around 17 knots and she made some exceptionally fast passages with tea to New York. By now, steamships and the newly opened Suez Canal had started to force the clippers out of the tea run to London.
https://www.penhaligons.com/lothair-eau-de-toilette/ Penhaligons have an eau de toiliette named after The Lothair.
http://www.artnet.com/artists/montague-dawson/16
https://www.bifa.org/media/3996983/bifalink-apr-17-web.pdf An obituary from Robert Keen, the Director General of the British International Freight Association, published in their April 2017 magazine marking the passing of Steve Smith, Managing Director of Killick Martin.
https://wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?195657 The wreck site of the SV Kaisow
https://archiveshub.jisc.ac.uk/search/archives/4339c5dd-b77a-3b14-8d8e-6530328832dd?component=4b76a626-d038-3363-9959-daa0264540d0 Killick Martin, Galbraith Wrightson and other correspondence, 1976. Records of the Ben Line Group. University of Glasgow Archive Services. GB 248 UGC 199/8/3/7
http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-60315;jsessionid=65DF3E4FA26304216866A503D3E9B80F The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Dawson, Montague
External links
- National Maritime Museum / https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections.html#!csearch;searchTerm=killick_martin
- UK Tea & Infusions Association / https://www.tea.co.uk/
- The David MacGregor Library / https://www.ssgreatbritain.org/brunel-institute/library
- The Maritime History Virtual Archives / http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Ships/Owners/Fleet_lists/KM&Co.html Archived 2020-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
- Friends of Whitehall / http://friendsofwhitehallcheam.co.uk/
- Clyde Ships / http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=22000
- RMG / https://collections.rmg.co.uk/collections/objects/148527.html
- Rotherhithe Ship Building / https://iliveinse16.com/rotherhithes-shipbuilding-past/
- Nightingale / http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Ships/Clippers/Nightingale(1851).html Archived 2020-09-21 at the Wayback Machine
- Challenge / http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Ships/Clippers/Challenge(1851).html
- Titania / http://www.clydeships.co.uk/view.php?ref=21987
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