Thomas Wilson Sons & Co Ltd (shipowners: 1891-1970s: Kingston-upon-Hull, England)

In 1822 , Wilson & Co was established as a shipowning firm in Kingston-upon-Hull, England by John Wilson and initially specialised in the importation of Swedish iron ore for use in the Sheffield iron trades. The company became Wilson, Hudson & Co in c1836 , becoming Thomas Wilson Sons & Co in 1841 . The company prospered, diversified into other trades and, under Thomas Wilson's sons Charles Henry (later 1st Baron Nunburnholme) and Arthur, became the largest privately owned shipping company in the world by the early twentieth century, with over 100 ships sailing to destinations around the globe.

This company was incorporated in 1891 as Thomas Wilson Sons & Co Ltd before being acquired by the Ellerman Lines Ltd , shipowners, Glasgow, Scotland, in 1916 . The Ellerman group of companies included Ellerman City Line Ltd , Ellerman Lines Ltd , Ellerman & Bucknall (Steamships) Co Ltd , Ellerman & Papayanni Lines Ltd and Hall Line Ltd . Even though the Ellerman group acquired the company, it continued to be run independently of the group and was generally known as Ellerman's Wilson Line . The company latterly specialised in luxury cruises from Kingston-upon-Hull and London to Scandinavia, Spain and Portugal, the Mediterranean, India, the USA and Australia. By 1965, the company was operating 24 vessels, all bearing the distinctive Ellerman groups "City of" nomenclature. The company went into demise in the early 1970s and ceased to trade.

From the guide to the Records of Thomas Wilson Sons & Co Ltd, shipowners, Kingston-upon-Hull, England, known as Ellerman's Wilson Line, 1898-1975, (Glasgow University Archive Services)