Books on the Blue Funnel Line

 

For those wanting to know more about the Blue Funnel Line there is a reasonable range of books on this topic, including those in the photos above and below. I've only reviewed two of them, though more might follow in the future.

Company Histories

Three of these books are histories, that set out to record what happened in the company over specific times, and each achieves its goal:

• Blue Funnel, A history of Alfred Hold & Company of Liverpool, 1865 - 1914 by Francis E. Hyde
• A Merchant Fleet in War, Alfred Holt & Co 1939 - 1945, by Captain S. W. Roskill
• The Blue Funnel Legend, A History of the Ocean Steam Ship Company 1865 - 1973, by Malcom Falkus

Travelogues and Life on Board

Two are highly readable descriptions of life on-board a Blue Funnel ship as it travels between Liverpool and the Far East. The first one is disguised but apparently is S.S. Polyphemus in 1907 and the second an amalgam of several voyages on similar vessels in the 1960s:

• The Surgeon's Log: Impressions of the Far East by J. Johnston Abraham
• Blue Funnel: Voyage East by Richard Woodman

Reference Books

Finally there are reference books with lists of ships often with photos:

• Blue Funnel Line, A Photographic History by Ian Collard
• Ships in Focus: The Blue Funnel Line by John Clarkson, Bill Harvey and Roy Fenton (below)
• Ships of the Blue Funnel Line by H. M. Le Fleming
• Merchant Fleets 6: Blue Funnel Line, by Duncan Haws
• Blue Funnel & Glen Lines Bulletin: Centenary Edition 1865 - 1965

Let me know if there are any others out there I should be collecting or if you'd like more detailed reviews.

Note there is an update on this post which can be found here.