Glory years of a well-loved island service
Isle of Man Steam Packet Heyday, by Adrian Sweeney
In 1935 the Isle of Man Steam Packet Company had a surprisingly large mixed fleet of 17 vessels including steamers, coal and oil burners and turbine engines – cargo and passenger vessels – serving ports in the UK.
Fascinating snippets from the company's history covering 1935 to 1975 are found in Isle of Man Steam Packet Heyday. This satisfyingly detailed resource covers all kinds of material, including: the impact of the seafarers' strike of 1966; discussions with builders; inspections; complete fleet list facts and figures; and black and white and colour photos mostly from the author's collection. The author also reflects on the company's losses in the First World War and subsequent post-war rebuilding.
Compiled by Ships of Mann magazine editor Adrian Sweeney, the book will appeal to those with an interest in this specific era of the passenger shipping company, which was founded right back in 1830. The careful research which has brought the title to publication apparently included hours spent poring over the company's mid-20th century board meeting minutes – a fine effort which has yielded an interesting and useful addition to the canon of maritime company histories.
Isle of Man Steam Packet Heyday
By Adrian Sweeney
Mainline & Maritime, £19.95
ISBN: 978 1913 797065
Buy this book in the Nautilus Bookshop
While you're there, why not browse the rest of the titles in our unique maritime bookshop, which sells all the books reviewed on these pages.
Buy nowMore Books
Memories of maritime adventures
Across the Edge: Pushing the Limits across Oceans and Continents by Peter ClutterbuckThe new memoir Across the Edge spans several decades of adventures sailing across oceans or crossing mountain ranges and continents.
Sort out your sextant skills
Reeds Astro Navigation Tables 2025, by Kendall CarterNew year, new astro navigation tables! The latest edition of this popular work gives a calendar showing where useful heavenly bodies will be each day in 2025, as well as guidance to help you practise navigating with your sextant using the sun and stars.
Well-researched history of mass maritime travel
Ocean Liners, by Anthony BurtonThe new title Ocean Liners has a great deal more to it than most books about liners and cruise ships, with plenty of technical content to appeal to an audience of maritime professionals.
True tale of a tragedy
Ship of Lost Souls, by Rod ScherRod Scher's Ship of Lost Souls reads like an adventure novel. Unfortunately, the book isn't fiction; it recounts the real-life 1906 grounding of the passenger liner Valencia and the deaths of over 170 people onboard.