Fleet of Wm Thomas & Co of Liverpool
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Information from Aled Eames, A.Villiers, Basil Lubbock, C.Woolard, J.I.Davies Public Record Office, NMM, University of St Johns Nfld , many correspondents etc. See my Bibliography for reading list

William Thomas was a teacher from Llanrhuddlad on Anglesey. He went to Liverpool to work in a shipping office but soon became a ship broker himself. He started off by investing in schooners, small brigs, barques and auxiliary vessels built or managed by the other William Thomas of Amlwch. By the 1870s he had shares or was manager of several large wooden sailing ships. He always tried to employ masters and crew from Anglesey and Caernarvonshire.

In 1877 he had the first of the "County " ships built. There was a total of seven, iron full rigged ships and barques, built at Liverpool and Sunderland. Over the next thirty years he had several large sailing ships and steamers built and took over the management of other North Wales owned vessels such as the "Cambrian" ships owned by Capt Thomas Williams of Criccieth. William Thomas died in 1916 and the remaining sailing ships were sold. After the First World War his son formed a new company but still under his father's name and this struggled on into the Thirties. This was a victim of the depression like many other shipping companies.
W.Bk= Wooden Barque, I.Bk= Iron Barque, St Bk = Steel Barque, I.S. Iron Ship St S = Steel Ship,  S.4.Bk= steel 4 masted barque, I.4.Bk=Iron 4 masted barque

Below is a list of the square rigged vessels owned by this company. Wm Thomas & Co also owned several steam ships and had shares, owned or managed many schooners built in Anglesey.
NAME TONS BUILT O.N. BOUGHT SOLD/
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Lady Young 595 1870   1872 1880 1880 Lost Between Plymouth and Cardiff. Capt William Watkins
North Star 718 1871 64944 1872   1872 Master was David Evans of Nefyn.
Sapho 707 1870 69252 1873 1888 1873 Mate was Owen Jones of Criccieth (Ty'n Gwynt) 1888 Sold to Norway
Julia 973 1873   1874 1874 1874 Missing New York-Liverpool Sept 2nd . Cargo of Rosin and Petroleum. Crew of 12 supposed drowned.
Malabar 1291 1874   1874 1886 1887 Lost off Scotish Isles.
Buckhorn 770 1875   1875 1876 1876 8th Nov Sailed St Helena - UK. Missing enroute from India with a cargo of rice. Capt. Benjamin Williams.
Havelock 1079 1875 72933 1875 1890 1876 -1880, Master was Capt. Owen Jones of Criccieth. His wife sailed with him and his two sons were born onboard. 1890 Sold to Norway
County of Anglesea 1067 1877 76506 1877 1905 1905 Dismasted, ashore at Portland 1905 Sold to Finland (Russia) 1912 Sold to NZ. Ended as Gladbrook
County of Caernarvon 1270 1877 76477 1877 1899 1899 Missing. Sailed Newcastle NSW to WCSA. Cap. Robert Roberts of Nefyn. Wreckage washed up on NZ coast.
County of Denbigh 1082 1877   1877 1880 1880 Missing. Astoria-UK . Capt Robert Roberts, Nefyn
County of Flint 1083 1877 76505 1877 1906 1905- Capt. William G. Cadwalader, Portmadoc.(RDC) 1907 Sold to Chile. (AE) 1926 Still afloat.
County of Cardigan 1292 1878 78749 1878 1911 1911 Sold to France for £1600 and became a hulk(AE)
County of Merioneth 1065 1880 81341 1880 1906 1906 Sold to Finland (AE)
County of Pembroke 1065 1881   1881 1903 1903 Nov 14th. Wrecked Algoa Bay
British Commerce 1417 1874   1883 1883 1883 Lost in collision with Co of Aberdeen. Capt H.R.Jones of Criccieth
Portia 1434 1868 56910 1883 1901 1901 Sold to Norway (AE)
Menai 1377 1880 81353 1884 1895 1895 Missing Newcastle NSW - Chile. Capt JohnFarrell of Amlwch, Roberts, mate from Holyhead
Ogwen 1381 1880 81374 1884 1886 1886 Wrecked W.Coast India
Kate Thomas 1693 1885 91233 1885 1910 1910 April 4 Capt John Williams, Caernarfon.William Roberts, the mate from Pwllheli. Sunk by the steamer India off Pendeen Light, Lands End, under tow from Antwerpen to Port Talbot. Sole survivor was an apprentice,, Jack Nelson.The captain and the mate both had their wives on board.(LB,AE, BL)
Principality 1699 1885 91258 1885 1905 1905 May 4.Left Junin for Rotterdam with 2600 tons of nitrate. 1905 May 13. Last spoken to at 23deg;30'S, 22deg;5'W. Probably lost at Cape Horn where wreckage was later found.
Colony 1694 1885 93697 1886 1915 1915 July Sold to Skibs A/S (Kr. Knudsen), Christiansand, Norway, and was renamed Kringsjaa. 1918 June 14 Sunk by the German submarine U 151 at 38deg;2' N, 71deg;40' W on voyage from Buenos Aires to New York with linseed. The master of the Kringsjaa was Captain G. Magnusdal. (LB)
Province 1874 1886 93709 1886 1910 1910 March 1 Wrecked on the Naze (AE)
Metropolis 1697 1887 93736 1887 1915 1915 Sold to T.B. Heistein & Sons, Christiansand, Norway. Captain J.A. Tornsen. (LB) 1917 April 22 Sunk by a German submarine on voyage from Philadelphia to Le Havre (AE,LB).
Pengwern 1573 1882 86277 1888 1907 1907? Wrecked near Cuxhaven (AE)
Holyhead 2273 1889   1889 1890 1890 February 12 Stranded on the Lonsdale Reef, Hobson's Bay, during the maiden voyage from Liverpool to Melbourne.
Carnarvon Castle 729 1870 63259 1891 1894 1895 May 1895 Posted missing, Huanillos to U.K. with guano. Not heard of since sailing Nov 2nd 1894 (AE) This doesn't check out with the following account from "Cymru a'r Mor/Maritime Wales No 18" The Abandonment of the Barque Carnarvon Castle, On Fire, in the Indian Ocean, January 1907
Dominion 2398 1891   1891 1899 1899 January 19 Left Honolulu for Royal Roads, Vancouver, British Columbia, in ballast and has never been heard of again. (LB,AE)
Nation 2401 1891   1891 1892 1892 March 24 Left Rangoon for Bremen with a cargo of rice and was never heard of again. Believed to have been lost in a hurricane off Mauritius. (LB)
Republic 2347 1891   1891 1896 1896 April 19 Abandoned at 34deg;N, 127deg;W when the cargo of coal caught fire on voyage Newcastle, NSW, to San Francisco, CA, under Captain J. Owen.
Cambrian Monarch 1306 1876 74552 1895 1907 1907 Sold to Chile, Oelikers Brothers, Valparaiso for 4,500 pounds and renamed LLANQUIHE (AE) 1919 Sold to Spanish owners and renamed PELAYO (AE) 1921 Sold to Buenas Aires. 1925 Broken up at Port San Juan, Spain.
Annie Thomas 1764 1896   1896 1899 1899 Missing. Cardiff - Acapulco with coal.(AE)
Cambrian Chieftain 1453 1885 91185 1896 1913 1913 Sold toDrammen and renamed Dova Lisboa(AE,BL) 1925 Broken up at Mobile(BL)
Camrian Princess 1350 1877 76493 1896 1902 1902 Sunk collision with SS Alma, in English Channel
Cambrian Warrior 1897 1904 1904 May 1st Wrecked passage Liverpool to Fremantle.William G. Cadwalader of Portmadoc master.
Cambrian Hills 1760 1892 102060 1897 1905 1905. 9th March, Sprung leak and capsized off the Scillies on passage Iquiqe to Le Havre 2860 tons of nitrates.
Wynnstay 1601 1884 91148 1899 1910 1910 Wrecked Chile (AE)
Cape Wrath   1892   1900 1900 1901 January 16 Foundered off the Columbia River, OR, on voyage from Callao to Astoria. Master of the ship at the time was Captain C. Lampshire. [Lubbock says that the ship was posted missing en route, probably due to the shifting of the shingle ballast]. (LB)
Marshall 1785 1893   1900 1906 1906 Wrecked Hook of Holland (AE)
Boadicea 1824 1887 Priority 1902 1915 1915 February. Sold to S.O.Stray and Co Christiansand, Norway. for 6500 pounds. 1917 Sunk by U boat
James Kerr 2281 1892   1902 1910 1910 March 29 Sold to Knöhr & Burchard, Hamburg, and was renamed Isebek(LB) 1914 Interned in Valparaiso during the war. (LB) 1920 Handed over to the victorious powers as war damage compensation. (LB) 1923 Sold to Soffia Gonzalez & Co., Valparaiso. (LB) 1926 January 19 Stranded at Chanaral. (LB)
Crocodile 2371 1892 99400 1903 1915 1915 Sold to S.O. Stray, Kristiansand, Norway, and was renamed Storegut. Captain N. Isaksen. 1917 June 13 Sunk on voyage from Philadelphia to Le Havre with a cargo of case oil by a German submarine 235 miles south of Lands End. (LB)
Afon Alaw 2050 1891   1904 1915 1915 Sold to S.O. Stray, Christiansand, Norway, and was renamed [Store]bror. (LB) 1918 January 4. Sunk by the German warship Wolfe on voyage Beira, East Africa, to Montevideo. (LB)
Cambrian Princess (2) 2437 1884 87939 1903 1913 1915 Sold to owners in Helsingfors. (LB) 1915 October 11 - January 31 Sailed from Rio de Janeiro to Genoa under command of Captain Julius Eriksson. (LB) 1916 Sold to Italian owners and was renamed Alessandra. (LB) 1918 March 15 Sunk by a German submarine. (LB)
Rowena 1934 1883 89500 1905 1914 1905 Sold to William Thomas & Co., Liverpool. (LB, AE) for 4,900 pounds (AE) 1905-1911 Capt William G.Cadwalader of Portmadoc in command (BL. AE, Stan Hugill, PRO etc) 1914 Sold to G. Stenius, Helsingfors, Finland, for 4500 pounds. (LB) (LB) 1917 Sold to V. Sundmann, Helsingfors. (LB) 1919 Sold to Rederi AB Finlandecia, Helsingfors. Captain Karl Eklund. (LB) 1920 Laid up. (LB) 1921 Sold to J.F.Gadd, Åbo, who also served as master. (LB) 1922 Hulked in Adelaide. (BL, LB) 
                                  

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