Allied Sumatra Plantations Limited was registered in 1925 to purchase two Sumatran companies: N.V. Soeka Radja Cultuur Maatschappij and N.V. Rubber Cultuur Mij Si Boelan. In 1960 it was acquired by London Sumatra Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-110). In May 1982 it became a private company.
This company was registered in 1911 as Bah Lias Tobacco and Rubber Estates Limited to acquire estates (Bah Lias, Tandjong Koeba, Inorapoera, Gamboes, Perlanaan and Maria Bandar) in Batoe Bahra and Bandar districts on the east coast of Sumatra. The tobacco estates were sold in 1921 and the name was changed to Bah Lias Rubber Estates Limited in 1924.
In 1933 it was one of the partners in the formation of Kulai Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-098). By 1948 it held 76% of the holding of this company.
In 1938 Bah Lias Rubber Estates Limited acquired Bila (Sumatra) Rubber Lands Limited (CLC/B/112-025) (and its Batang Sapongol, Gergas and Soengei Brohol estates) and Wampoe Tobacco and Rubber Estates Limited.
It was acquired by London Sumatra Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-110) in 1961, and in April 1982 it became a private company.
Corrie MacColl and Son Limited was formed in 1919 to reconstitute Corrie MacColl and Company, a firm of produce dealers and agents originally registered in 1902. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112-001) invested in the Company in 1919, and Corrie MacColl & Son Limited took over Harrisons and Crosfield's rubber dealing and Eastern produce departments. Archibald MacGregor MacColl was on the board of Harrisons and Crosfield, 1919-25.
This company was registered in 1910 to acquire the Djasinga estate and other assets in Java vested in the Java registered company N.V. Cultuur Mij Jasinga (known from 1959 as P.T. Perusahaan Perkebunan Djasinga), which became a subsidiary company.
In 1931 Djasinga Rubber and Produce Company acquired the Kandang, Sapi, Pasir Mandang and Tjim Aratja estates. It was acquired by London Sumatra Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-110) in 1961, and in April 1982 it became a private company.
Doranakande Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1931 to reconstitute a firm of the same name (which was originally registered in 1910 to acquire Doranakande and Trafalgar estates in Ceylon). Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) replaced Taylor, Noble and Company as secretaries and agents of the company in 1972. In 1984 Doranakande Rubber Estates Limited was acquired by Harrisons Malaysian Plantations Berhad (CLC/B/112-080).
Gan Kee Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1910 to acquire the Gan Kee estates in Negri Sembilan, Malaya. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) acted as agents and secretaries from 1952 to 1955 (replacing Bright and Galbraith).
Straits Plantations Limited was registered in 1899 to acquire Bagan Datoh estates in Perak, Malaya. It acquired Coconut Plantations of Perak Limited in 1929, Perak Oil Palms Limited in 1937 and Kayan (F.M.S.) Coconut Company Limited in 1937. In 1962 it was acquired by Golden Hope Rubber Estate Limited (CLC/B/112-054). From December 1977 the company was resident in Malaysia for tax purposes. It became a private company in May 1982.
Tai Tak Plantations Limited was registered in 1922 to re-constitute Tai Tak (Johore) Rubber Estates Limited (originally registered May 1920) and to acquire the Tai Tak and Himyuen estates in Johore, Malaya. In 1926 it took over Sungei Dangan (Malaya) Rubber Company Limited. It was acquired by Golden Hope Rubber Estate Limited (CLC/B/112-054) in 1950/1.
Rubber Plantations Investment Trust was registered in 1909 to acquire investment holdings in tea, rubber, plantation and other companies. The capital for investment was provided by Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) which transferred tea and rubber company shares. In 1922 Rubber Plantations Investment Trust owned 99,672 acres of land, the majority of which was on the East coast of Sumatra, and some in Travancore (Kerala) and Malaya.
In 1937 it acquired the whole stock of Sumatra Tea Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-146). In 1957 T.R.S. Ltd (CLC/B/112-150) became a wholly owned subsidiary. Rubber Plantations Investment Trust also held half of the capital of G.T.S. Syndicate Limited (CLC/B/112-052).
From 1968 it was known as Harcros Investment Trust Limited to reflect the changing nature of the business. The entire capital of Harcros Investment Trust Limited was acquired by Harrisons and Crosfield Limited in 1978. The Trust is last mentioned as a subsidiary of Harrisons and Crosfield in the annual report and accounts of 1989.
Harrisons and Crosfield Latex Limited was registered in 1947 in Malaysia with factories in Johore and Selangor for the manufacture of centrifugal or creamy latex. A number of Harrisons and Crosfield Limited and Bright and Galbraith subsidiary companies subscribed to the company. By around 1967 the name had changed to Harrisons and Crosfield Latex Sdn Bhd. In 1983 it became a wholly owned subsidiary of Harrisons Malaysian Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-079).
Harrisons and Eastern Export Limited was formed in 1913 in England through the amalgamation of the Australasian interests of Harrisons and Crosfield's Colombo and Calcutta branches with the business of Eastern Export Proprietary Limited (a subsidiary of Fraser Ramsay Proprietary) to merge their tea businesses. The Company was re-registered in Colombo after it went into voluntary liquidation. With a head office in Colombo and branch office in Calcutta, the Company exported tea from Ceylon to Australia and New Zealand. In 1953 Harrisons and Crosfield Limited purchased the entire share capital from Harrisons Ramsay Proprietary. For historical notes on the Company see CLC/B/112/MS37392.
Hong Kong (Selangor) Rubber Limited was registered in 1912 to purchase property in Selangor, Malaya, known as the Hong Kong (Selangor) estate. Some areas of its estates were sub-leased to Hong Kong Tin Limited (CLC/B/112-086). Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) replaced Bright and Galbraith as agents and secretaries of the company in 1952. Harrisons and Crosfield (Malaya) Limited (CLC/B/112-071) acted as local agents from 1953. In 1982 it became a p.l.c. (public limited company). It went into voluntary liquidation in 1983.
Hoscote Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1932 to re-constitute Hoscote (Malaya) Rubber Estates Limited (registered in 1925). It held the Hoscote and Pertang estates in Negri Sembilan and the Benut estate in Johore, Malaya, and the Kemayan estate in Malaya. In 1934 it acquired Kuala Krau Rubber Company Limited, and in 1938 Raub Rubber Estates Limited.
The company was acquired by Harrisons Malaysian Estates (CLC/B/112-079) in 1977. In December of that year, it became resident in Malaysia for tax purposes. In 1982 it became a private company.
Irwin Harrisons and Whitney Incorporated was registered in 1924 on the merger of Irwin Harrisons and Crosfield Incorporated (which was formed in 1914 on the merger of the New York branch of Harrisons and Crosfield Limited and A.P. Irwin and Company) and J.C. Whitney (tea importers and exporters).
Irwin Harrisons and Crosfield Incorporated were tea importers and exporters with branches in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston and San Francisco. In 1944 the export trade was taken over by Harrisons and Crosfield (America) Incorporated (CLC/B/112-065). In 1978 Irwin Harrisons and Whitney became a wholly owned subsidiary of Harrisons and Crosfield. In 1979 it was restyled as part of Harcros Inc, a subsidiary of Harrisons and Crosfield (America) Incorporated (see CLC/B/112/MS37523-9).
For historical notes on Harrisons and Crosfield Ltd's shareholdings in the Company see CLC/B/112/MS37392. For staff lists see CLC/B/112/MS37341.
In 1926 Harrisons, Davis & Company was registered in Kobe to act as a silk buying agency for Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) and also as an exporter of silk worldwide. In 1930 it was taken over by W.W. Jarmain and re-styled Jarmain, Davis and Company. In 1972 Harrisons and Crosfield acquired a 50% interest in the company and it was restyled Jarmain, Harrisons and Crosfield Limited. The partnership was dissolved in 1986, and the name was changed back to Jarmain, Davis and Company.
This company was registered in 1908 to manage an estate in the Pengalengan district of Java. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) acted as agents for the company. In 1962 the name was changed to P.T. Perusahan Perkebunan Teh Kertasarie Limited. It went into voluntary liquidation in 1970/1. For annual report and accounts, 1962, and other papers see CLC/B/112/MS37941.
Killinghall (Rubber) Development Syndicate Limited was registered in 1909 to manage the Killinghall estate near Petaling, Kuala Lumpur. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) replaced Bright and Galbraith as secretaries and agents of the company in 1952. Harrisons and Crosfield (Malaya) Limited (CLC/B/112-071) acted as local agents from 1953.
Killinghall (Rubber) Development Syndicate held mining leases sub-let to Killinghall Tin Limited until 1979. In 1982 it became a PLC (public limited company). It went into voluntary liquidation in 1985.
Killinghall Tin Limited was registered in 1929. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited replaced Bright and Galbraith as secretaries and agents of the company in 1952. Killinghall Tin Limited held mining leases sub-leased from Killinghall (Rubber) Development Syndicate. In 1978-9 the company was registered in Malaysia and in 1979 it became Killinghall Tin (Malaysia) Berhad. In 1984 the name was changed to Killinghall (Malaysia) Berhad.
Kuala Selangor Rubber Company was registered in 1905 for the production of rubber and palm oil on the Kuala Selangor estate in Selangor, Malaya. In 1910 it acquired the Pasangan estate, and in 1917 the Abu plantation estate in Papua New Guinea. In 1952 Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) replaced Bright and Galbraith as secretaries. Harrisons and Crosfield (Malaya) Limited (CLC/B/112-071) acted as local agents from 1953.
In 1981/2 it became a PLC (public limited company). In 1984 it was acquired by Harrisons Malaysian Plantations Berhad (CLC/B/112-080), and it became resident in Malaysia for tax purposes.
Langkon North Borneo Rubber Limited was registered in 1906 to acquire estates in Marudu Bay, British North Borneo. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) became secretaries of the company in 1942. In 1958 Harrisons and Crosfield sold its stock in the company and ceased to act as secretaries.
Cluny Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1910 to acquire estates in Perak, Malaya, and to take over the firm of the same name registered in Singapore. In 1947 Cluny Rubber Estates Limited was acquired by Lanadron Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-105), which in turn was acquired by London Asiatic Rubber and Produce Company (CLC/B/112-103) in 1960.
Lanadron Rubber Estates Limited: This company was registered in 1907 to acquire land in Johore, Malaya, and to take over the Lanadron and Jementah estates run by the Lanadron Estate Limited and Jementah Rubber Company Limited. In 1947 it acquired Cluny Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-104), Ledbury Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-106) and Rubber Estates of Johore Limited (CLC/B/112-107).
Lanadron Rubber Estates Limited was purchased by London Asiatic Rubber and Produce Company (CLC/B/112-103) in 1960, and in 1968/9 it went into voluntary liquidation.
Tangkah Rubber Estates Limited: This company was registered in 1909 to acquire estates in Johore, Malaya. In 1923 it was acquired by London Asiatic Rubber and Produce Company (CLC/B/112-103).
Meppadi Wynaad Tea Company Limited was registered in 1910 to acquire the Arrapetta-Kardoora, Neddikarna, Nedimballi-Meppadi, Moopenaad, and Sentinel Rock estates in the Wynaad district of southern India. In 1923 it was acquired by Malayalam Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-113).
Nalek Rubber Estate Limited was registered in 1964 to acquire Kelan estate in Johore, Malaya. It was a subsidiary of London Sumatra Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-110). In 1984 it was acquired by Harrisons Malaysian Plantations Berhad (CLC/B/112-080).
Namoe Tongan Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1926 to acquire the Namoe Tongan and Soengei Roembija estates on the east coast of Sumatra. In 1961 it was acquired by London Sumatra Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-110). In 1982 it became a private company.
Bikam Rubber Estate Limited: This company was registered in 1909 to acquire the Bikam (tea and rubber) estate in Perak, Malaysia. It acquired Victoria (Malaya) Rubber Estates Limited (in 1927), North Labis (Johore) Rubber and Produce Company (1934), Sungkai Chumor Estates Limited (1935) and Tebolang Rubber Estates Limited (1935). In 1952 it was taken over by Pataling Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-124).
Strathisla (Perak) Rubber Estates Limited: This company was registered in 1910 to acquire estates in the Kinta district of Perak, Malaya. In 1959 it was taken over by Pataling Rubber Estates Limited (CLC/B/112-124).
R J Spargo (Proprietary) Limited was registered in around 1933 (no exact date is given in the memorandum and articles of association) in Johannesburg, South Africa, to deal in rubber. The relation of the company to Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) is not known.
Rubber Securities Limited was registered in 1909 as a rubber plantation investment company. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) replaced Bright and Galbraith as secretaries and agents of Rubber Securities Limited in 1952. In 1953 Rubber Securities Limited was acquired by G.T.S. Syndicate Limited (CLC/B/112-052) and in 1981 it became a private company.
This company was registered in 1961 as Borneo Plantations Limited, for production of palm oil, kernels and cocoa on land offered by the Borneo Government to the British Borneo Timber Company at Kalunpang, North Borneo, formerly leased by Darvel Tobacco Company (see CLC/B/112/MS38170). In April 1962 the name was changed to Sabah Plantations Limited. Harrisons and Crosfield acted as secretaries and eastern agents until 1982 when they were replaced by Harrisons Malaysian Plantations Berhad (CLC/B/112-080). From 1977-83 Harrisons Malaysian Estates (CLC/B/112-079) held 48% of the capital of Sabah Plantations Limited; from 1984 it held 100%. From 1982 the company was resident in Malaysia for tax purposes.
Sabah Timber Company Limited was registered in 1920 as British Borneo Timber Company Limited, on an agreement between Harrisons and Crosfield Limited and British North Borneo (Chartered) Company. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited transferred the property and assets of China Borneo Company Limited to British Borneo Timber Company Limited. The company received timber cutting licences. Harrisons and Crosfield acted as secretaries and agents for British Borneo Timber Company Limited from 1920.
British Borneo Timber Company Limited supplied logs to Borneo Veneers Limited (established in 1959), which was half owned by British Borneo Timber Company Limited and half by Plywoods Limited.
In 1963 British Borneo Timber Company Limited was renamed Sabah Timber Company Limited. (It already controlled a company named Sabah Timber Company, registered in March 1963. The name of this company was changed in October 1963 to Sabah Trading Company Limited, see CLC/B/112-138). In the same year the name of Borneo Veneers Limited was changed to Sabah Veneers Limited (see CLC/B/112-139).
In 1972/3 Harrisons and Crosfield Limited acquired 50% of the shareholding in Sabah Timber Company Limited which became a subsidiary company. It became a wholly owned subsidiary in 1978.
Sabah Timber Company Limited acquired a number of other timber supplying companies including John Wright and Son (Redditch) Limited in 1969, William T Storer and Company Limited in 1970, Robinson, David and Company in 1969 and Pattinson and Company Limited in 1982.
In 1982 the last logging agreement ended and Sabah Timber Company developed an extensive timber and building supplies network in the UK and Ireland. In 1988 the timber and building supplies operations of Harrisons and Crosfield Limited were consolidated into a single corporate identity: Harcros Timber and Building Supplies Limited.
For historical notes on Sabah Timber Company see CLC/B/112/MS37392.
Sabah Trading Company Limited, timber growers and merchants, was registered in March 1963 as Sabah Timber Company Limited. The name was changed to Sabah Trading Company Limited in October 1963 at the same time as British Borneo Timber Company Limited was re-named Sabah Timber Company Limited; see CLC/B/112-137.
Sandac Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1935 to acquire Sandakan Estates Limited (registered in Borneo in 1928), and Tabanac estate in British North Borneo. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited acted as secretaries for the company, 1935-1969. In 1969 Sandac Rubber Estates Limited went into voluntary liquidation. For historical notes on Harrisons and Crosfield's shareholdings in the company see CLC/B/112/MS37392.
Seaport (Selangor) Rubber Estate Limited was registered in 1910 to acquire land on the railway between Klang and Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Malaya. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited acted as secretaries for the company 1910-1965. In 1965/6 Seport (Selangor) Rubber Estate Limited went into voluntary liquidation and its estates were sold.
Sialang Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1909 to acquire the Sialang, Batoe Gingging and Tebing Tinggi estates on the east coast of Sumatra. In 1961 it was acquired by London Sumatra Plantations Limited (CLC/B/112-110). In April 1982 it became a private company.
Sungei Bahru Rubber Estates Limited was registered in 1932 to re-constitute a firm of the same name (registered in 1909) and to acquire estates in Negri Sembilan and Malacca. Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112) took over from Taylor, Noble and Company as secretaries of Sungei Bahru Rubber Estates Limited in 1972. It had a wholly owned subsidiary: New Crescent (Holdings) Limited (CLC/B/112-120). In 1982 it became a PLC and in 1984 it was acquired by Harrisons Malaysian Plantations Berhad (CLC/B/112-080).
This company was registered in 1910 in Batavia [now Jakarta], with its business at Buitenzorg in Java, Indonesia. It became a limited company in 1912. In December 1915 it was acquired by the Harrisons and Crosfield branch in Batavia (see CLC/B/112-013). In 1924 it went into voluntary liquidation.
This company was registered in 1926 in Kuala Lumpur to produce linatex and other crepe rubber. It had a factory in Batu Caves, Selangor, Malaya. It was partly owned by Harrisons and Crosfield Limited (CLC/B/112-001-016), and Harrisons and Crosfield (Malaya) Limited (CLC/B/112-071) acted as secretaries for the company.
Harrisons and Crosfield Limited and, from 1930, Wilkinson Rubber Linatex Limited (CLC/B/112-166) acted as sole concessionaires in Europe of the company's products.
In 1966 its name was changed to Wilkinson Process Rubber Company Berhad, and from 1990 it was known as Linatex Process Rubber Berhad. In 1989 Harrisons and Crosfield became the majority shareholder.
For staff lists see CLC/B/112/MS37341.
Charles Hobson, born circa 1897, was a clock restorer of Portland Road, Hove, Sussex. He carried out repairs on many clocks made by notable clockmakers.
The Imperial Continental Gas Association was constituted in 1826 to 'manufacture and produce inflammable air or gas from coal, oil and other materials ... and to supply Cities and Towns .... in foreign countries'. It was not concerned with the British market. Its founder Major-General Sir William Congreve Bt, MP, FRS (1772-1828) had toured the continent since 1824 promoting the adoption by municipal authorities of lighting by coal gas and concluding early contracts to supply such cities as Ghent, Rotterdam, Hanover and Berlin. From its London headquarters, the Association expanded its operations abroad in succeeding decades. It negotiated contracts in Austria-Hungary, Belgium, France, Prussia and the Netherlands, took over or built gas works in foreign cities and directed production and supply through a network of British and foreign agents and engineers. Its concern initially was with the lighting by gas of public places, but by the second half of the 19th century it was also supplying domestic consumers. Towards the end of the century, it branched out into production and supply of electricity.
Many of the Association's works and premises were damaged during the First World War. In addition, in 1916-17 its holdings in Germany and Austria-Hungary suffered compulsory liquidation by the German and Austrian governments. In consequence, after 1918, there was restructuring so that operations were increasingly restricted to Belgium and France and direct supervision transferred to locally constituted subsidiary companies. In 1928-9, the following allied and subsidiary companies were formed in Belgium: Antwerpsche Gasmaatschappij (A. G.M.), formed to take over the Association's interests in the Antwerp area; Societe Electricite et Gaz de l'Agglomeration Bruxelloise (Electrogaz) and Societe Provinciale du Gaz et de l'Electricite (Provinciale), formed to serve the suburbs and outlying communes of Brussels and the rural areas of the province of Brabant; Les Cokeries du Brabant, formed to produce coke and gas; Societe de Distribution de Gaz (Distrigaz), formed to create a long-distance gas grid throughout Belgium; and Union Intercommunale des Centrales Electriques du Brabant (Interbrabant), formed to produce and transmit electricity. In 1933 a Belgian holding company, Compagnie Belge et Continentale du Gaz (Contibel), was formed to administer the subsidiaries. In France, the Association's main interest lay in the Compagnie Continentale du Gaz, formed in 1907. This remained in Association hands until 1946 when the energy industries of France were nationalised.
The role of the Association in the affairs of its subsidiaries diminished progressively after 1945. In April 1987, in the course of company restructuring, the Association went into voluntary liquidation.
The Association operated from a succession of addresses in the City of London: 29 Swithin's Lane (1824-31); Levant House, St Helen's Place (1831-35); 7 White Hart Court, Lombard Street, (1835-1864); 30-31 Clement's Lane (1864-1891); 21 Austin Friars (1891-1920); 6 London Wall (1921-27); 2 Devonshire Square (1927-79); 14 Moorfields Highwalk (1979-1987).
The origins of this firm may be traced to Liverpool and the formation, in 1834, of the partnership Gillanders, Ewart and Company to open a trading house in Bombay concerned with shipping, piece goods and general agency business. In 1836, the Bombay House took the name Ewart, Lyon and Company. The name of the Liverpool firm was changed in 1842 to Arbuthnot, Ewart and Company. By the mid 1850s, business was dominated by the export from India of rice, cotton, sugar and wool and the import of consumer goods. A Karachi partnership, Ewart, Ryrie and Company, was established at this time to deal in wool from north west India. The Bombay firm was redesignated Ewart, Latham and Company in 1883.
The timber trade connections of W. M. Macaulay, a partner in Ewart, Latham and Company from 1883, turned attention to the possibility of obtaining teak from Siam at lower prices than that supplied by the Bombay Burmah Trading Company. Consequently, in 1885, the Siam Forest Company Limited was set up in Bombay to take on the lease of teak forest in the Me Ngow river valley, northern Siam. Its shareholders included partners of the English and Indian firms. Ewart, Latham and Company acted as agents and secretaries of the new company.
In 1897, the Siam Forest Company Limited was reformed in London to acquire the Bombay-registered company and also the saw mill and timber business of Clarke and Company of Bangkok. General trading and agency work was also significant over the next two decades. In view of this, the company was redesignated the Anglo Siam Corporation in 1917. The entire businesses of Arbuthnot, Ewart and Company, Ewart, Latham and Company and Ewart, Ryrie and Company were acquired in 1920. Thereafter, they continued to trade as branches of the corporation. The firm was restyled again in 1939, becoming the Anglo Thai Corporation. After the Second World War, trading interests continued to expand into Malaysia, India, Thailand, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong and Indonesia.
The corporation was acquired by the Inchcape Group of trading companies in 1975. The firm had offices at 67 Cornhill, 1897-1908; 2 Fenchurch Avenue, 1909-23; 5 and 7 St Helen's Place, 1924-44; 80 Bishopsgate, 1945-55; Gerrard House, 31/45 Gresham Street, 1956-68; Lee House, London Wall, 1969-?82; and 40 St Mary Axe, 1983-8.
Assam and African Investments Limited was part of the Inchcape Group. It operated in Assam (India) and Kenya and Tanzania (East Africa).
This company provided passenger transport, mail carrying and shipping services in Australia.
Child, Macfarland and Company Limited were export agents. The company was part of the Inchcape Group of companies.
This company carried on business as merchant traders and agents in Canton, China, and was part of the Inchcape Group of companies.
Gray, Dawes and Company, London agents of the British India Steam Navigation Company Limited, established Gray, MacKenzie and Company as a partnership in Basra, Iraq, in 1869. In common with its associated firm, Gray, Paul and Company (launched by Gray, Dawes in Bushire, Persia, in 1865), Gray, MacKenzie and Company acted as shipping agent for British India steamers plying between India, the Gulf ports and Europe. In fact, the two partnerships acted as one company, maintaining one set of accounts and a close correspondence.
Their business quickly expanded into the import of British and Indian goods (including cotton, coffee, guns and rice) and the export of silk, wood, specie, oilseeds and, especially, dates. They also operated as insurance agents, lighterage contractors and ship repairers. From the 1860s onwards, branches of Gray, Paul and Company opened at Lingah, Bander Abbas (both in Persia) and Bahrein, while Gray, MacKenzie and Company established an off-shoot at Mohammerah (modern Khorramshahr) in Iraq.
In 1920, it was decided to continue more closely earlier cooperation with the shipping agents Lynch Brothers Limited, by combining the resources of all three firms (Gray, MacKenzie and Company, Gray, Paul and Company, and Lynch Brothers Limited) as the Mesopotamia Persia Corporation Limited. Earlier joint activity had included the formation of the Persian Transport Company to operate a concession on the River Karun in Persia and proposals to launch the Ottoman River Navigation Company on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in Iraq. The new corporation took over the entire operations of Lynch Brothers Limited and secured a monopoly of navigation rights on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers from the Imperial Ottoman government.
Mutual cooperation ended in 1936 when the component firms reverted to their separate identities. Gray, MacKenzie and Company and Gray, Paul and Company were thereupon transformed into one limited liability company registered in Britain: Gray, MacKenzie and Company Limited.The new firm increased the number of its branches and its dealings in local produce and mail. It was also heavily involved in the expanding oil industry of the region. An appreciation at this time that existing dock facilities were inadaquate prompted the establishment of 2 subsidiaries: Busreh Slipway Company Limited and Bahrein Slipway Company Limited.
In July 1957, in the period of company restructuring engineered by the third Earl Inchcape prior to the launch of Inchcape and Company Limited (see the Inchcape Group introductory note in CLC/B/123), Gray, Dawes and Company Limited increased its shareholding in the firm to 50.42%. Gray, MacKenzie developed as an important port manager and operator in the Gulf into the 1970s, providing technical engineering services for oil field supply bases.
In London, the firm shared the offices of Gray, Dawes and Company: 122 Leadenhall Street (1936-61) and 40 St. Mary Axe (1961-88).
This company, operating in Assam, India, in the 19th and 20th centuries, was part of the Inchcape Group.
The firm was incorporated in Calcutta in 1949, formed by the merger of the partnerships Macneill and Company and Barry and Company.
MACNEILL AND COMPANY: established in Calcutta in 1872 by Duncan Macneill and John MacKinnon, nephews of William MacKinnon (for details of the shipping, trading and agency firms established by MacKinnon, see the Inchcape Group introductory note at CLC/B/123), the firm operated as an agency house for shipping, coal, tea and jute companies. Among the most important businesses represented were Rivers Steam Navigation Company Limited (see CLC/B/123-47), Equitable Coal Company Limited, Kalline Tea Company (see CLC/B/123-36) and Ganges Manufacturing Company Limited. An associated partnership, Duncan Macneill and Company (see CLC/B/123-23), was established in the 1870s to manage the London end of affairs.
BARRY AND COMPANY: this firm was also based in Calcutta and had been set up in the 1860s by Dr J B Barry, a tea garden doctor (or horticulturist) from Assam. Its managerial and agency interests were broadly complementary to those of Macneill and Company: jute and tea. Barry's son established a London office at this time, J B Barry and Son, to handle the firm's tea exports.
In 1915 Lord Inchcape, as commercial successor to Sir William MacKinnon (for bibliographical details of both men see the Inchcape Group introductory note at CLC/B/123), took over the Macneill and Barry partnerships in England and India. During the 1920s and 1930s, there was considerable expansion of business into commerce and industry.
Two years after incorporation in 1949 as Macneill and Barry Limited, the company acquired a minority interest in Kilburn and Company, a trading and agency house which acted, inter alia, for a further tea company, the Assam Company (see CLC/B/123-05), and for India General Steam Navigation Company Limited.
Following the partition of India, it became necessary to establish wholly-owned subsidiaries to manage Pakistani affairs locally. Thereafter, the management of the tea companies and of the 'Joint Steamer Companies' (Rivers Steam Navigation Company and India General Steam Navigation Company had operated jointly since 1889) was in the hands of Macneill and Barry (Pakistan) Limited and Kilburn and Company (Pakistan) Limited. Remaining equity in the parent company, Kilburn and Company, was bought out by Macneill and Barry Limited in 1956, thereafter the two subsidiaries merged to form Macneill and Kilburn Limited.
Macneill and Barry Limited was brought into the Inchcape Group in 1960. In 1975 it merged with the Calcutta agency house Williamson Magor Limited to form Macneill and Magor Limited.
This company was part of the Inchcape Group of companies.