House flag, Rowland & Marwoods Steam Ship Co.

F2632

House flag, Rowland & Marwoods Steam Ship Co. Long Caption: The house flag of Rowland & Marwoods Steam Ship Co., Whitby. A square white flag with a blue border bearing a red cross in the centre. The flag is made of wool bunting with a linen hoist and is machine sewn. A rope and toggle is attached. The design dates from before 1934 when the company were asked to alter their colours by the War Office and changed them to a blue cross with a red border. Rowland and Marwood was created in 1890 by six steamship owners, each ship owned by shareholders, to form a larger and mutually beneficial concern. Rowland died in 1899, and Marwood in 1914, and from 1914 W. A. Headlam and his family became the driving force of the company. The tramp fleet carried mainly coal out, and then grain, timber, and many other cargoes back to the UK or European ports. They traded worldwide to ports in Australia, South America, Cuba, Canada and elsewhere on the globe. The company lost six ships in the First World War, but acquired 13 new ones in the period 1922 to 1940. Credit line: © National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London, Pope Collection. We regret that Museum enquiries have not been able to identify the owner of the flag's emblem and would welcome any information that would help us update our records. Object: AAA0435 Artist: unknown Date: before 1934 Medium: wool; linen; machine sewn Size: 1752 mm x 1955 mm Click here to buy a bespoke print of this image.