The house flag of House flag, Stanhope Steamship Co. Ltd, London. A blue swallow-tailed burgee with a white diamond overall bearing the monogram 'JAB'. The flag is made of a wool and synthetic fibre bunting. It has a cotton hoist and is machine sewn. The letters are on a double sided patch in the centre. A rope and toggle is attached.


The Stanhope Steamship Company was founded in 1934 by Jack Billmeir, a shipbroker based in London. The company’s first holdings were two coasters, the ‘Stanhope’ and the ‘Stanmore’ which were both cargo carriers. In 1936, at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War, Billmeir decided to venture into carrying cargo (mostly petroleum) into Spanish Republic-held ports in Spain. The company purchased 21 aging ships, to circumvent the problem of pricey war risks insurance with newer ships. Carrying cargo to Spain during the war was a risky business, and many of Stanhope’s ships were attacked by enemy forces in Spain, including an air attack against the ‘Stanwel’l in Tarragona in 1938. At the end of the Spanish Civil War in 1939, Franco banned any ship which had traded with the Republic from entering Spanish ports. This meant that Stanhope could not continue carrying cargo into Spain.

Some of Stanhope’s ships were also employed during World War II, and about half of the fleet was lost to enemy fire. After the war, Stanhope continued carrying cargo and acquired more ships. In the late 1950s, however, with the freight market declining in Great Britain, Stanhope began to sell some of these ships. In 1963, Jack Billmeir died and the company only had 3 ships left. The company was eventually bought out by George Nott Industries, which became part of the European Ferries and subsequently P & O.