From Ship’s Cook to Baronet
Sir William Reardon Smith’s Life in Shipping, 1856 - 1935
9780708324240
Distributed for University of Wales Press
From Ship’s Cook to Baronet
Sir William Reardon Smith’s Life in Shipping, 1856 - 1935
Sir William Reardon Smith, founder of the Reardon Smith shipping line, was one of the foremost figures in south Wales in the early twentieth century. Starting as a cabin boy, he made a fortune as a ship owner at the height of the Welsh coal trade and subsequently showed great entrepreneurial initiative during the Great Depression, acquiring motor vessels and establishing new trade routes. He is also remembered as a great philanthropist, particularly through his association with the National Museum of Wales.
This thorough portrait of the entrepreneur combines an autobiography of the first forty years of Sir William’s life—which was discovered fifty years after his death at the age of eighty—a substantial essay on the latter half of his life, and extensive appendices that include a family tree, company lists, and shipping maps.
Reviews
Table of Contents
Foreword: John Reardon-Smith, Chairman, Reardon Smith Nautical Trust
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Sir William Recollects, 1870–95
Master Mariner, Shipowner and Philanthropist, 1895–1935
Appendices
Reardon Smith Family Tree
William Reardon Smith’s seafaring career, 1870–1900
Management and shipping companies
Fleet lists, 1905–35
Sailing ship rigs
Ports world-wide to which William Reardon Smith sailed during his
seafaring career, 1870–1900
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Sir William Recollects, 1870–95
Master Mariner, Shipowner and Philanthropist, 1895–1935
Appendices
Reardon Smith Family Tree
William Reardon Smith’s seafaring career, 1870–1900
Management and shipping companies
Fleet lists, 1905–35
Sailing ship rigs
Ports world-wide to which William Reardon Smith sailed during his
seafaring career, 1870–1900
Bibliography
Index