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B I B B Y S I X G E N E R AT I O N SOV E R 2 0 0 Y E A R S O F B I B B Y L I N E G R O U P ’ S S U C C E S S & A C H I E V EM E N T S

JOHN BIBBYFOUNDER 1775 - 1840

1775

FIRST GENERATION

John Bibby was the fourth of five sons of James andAlice Bibby, farmers in Eccleston, near Ormskirk, inSouth Lancashire. Without hope of any inheritanceor even a decent living from the farm, in 1800 Johnwent to Liverpool to find employment and took ajob with a ship’s iron merchant.

He was 25 years old and had previously unsuccessfully tried his luck at farming. Within a few years John began trading in the iron industry, and metals were to becomea profitable business for the Bibby family throughout the 19th century. John saw anopportunity to diversify and expand, and in 1801 set up a ship broking business withWilliam Hall their first venture was a small share in the 60 ton galliot ‘Dove’.

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1807

Following his marriage to Mary Mellard, who brought adowry of £2,500 into the marriage, John was able topurchase his first sailing ship and so the Bibby Line dynastybegan. They had five children, four sons and one daughter.

With John’s business acumen in diversifying and investing inthe shipping and metals business as well as propertyinvestments he was able to lay the financial foundations forthe generations to come.

Initially the Bibby Line vessels were second hand vesselsengaged in coastal trade sailing between Parkgate andDublin. But John was soon able to have ships built to hisown specifications and the initial tramping trade was shortlyfollowed by more regular sailings. In 1820 the ‘George IV’,destined for the Brazil trade, was launched to commemoratethe ascension to the throne of King George IV. It was thefirst vessel in the country named after the new monarch.

Mary Mellard

B I B B Y S I X G E N E R A T I O N S

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1813James Jenkinson Bibby born.

1836By 1836 Bibby Line’s fleetwas 18 strong and travelledall over the world but mainlyto the Mediterranean, SouthAmerica and China.

John Bibby had become avery wealthy businessman;property owner; and majorshareholder of the Bank ofLiverpool.

1840In 1840 John Bibby wasfound brutally murdered.Robbed for only a pocketwatch, knockedunconscious, dragged 2 ½miles across muddy fields,thrown into a pond and leftto drown. He left a smallfortune and a substantialshipping and metal businessto his four sons and onedaughter.

1827

In 1827 John Bibby & Co was stilldescribed as ‘iron merchants and shipowners’, suggesting that the ironworkswas the principle activity.

They became major suppliers of coppersheeting to many of the top Britishshipyards for cladding sailing ships.The most famous was ‘HMS Victory’.

In 1830 Bibby Line took part in the socalled “Waghorn Route”, a train ofcamels and horses transporting cargoesand passengers from Alexandria toSuez, to save a 4,500 miles journeyaround Africa. 1839

With the ironworks doing so wellfor the business, in 1839 JohnBibby started a copper smeltingworks in St Helens, a few mileseast of Liverpool, which producedcopper ingots, tiles and cakes,and a copper rolling mill inSeacombe (just across the River Mersey from the ironworksat Duke’s Dock) producing firebox plates, bolts, sheathing and braziery.

HMS Victory

Duke’s DockThe ‘Mary Bibby’

Mary sadly died very young whilst thechildren were still school age. But in hermemory, John had a sailing ship built,the ‘Mary Bibby’, with 300 tons the

largest in the fleet.

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JAMES BIBBY1813 - 1897

1840

SECOND GENERATION

John Bibby’s untimely death at the age of 65 left his sons with a thrivingbusiness. John Bibby & Sons continued as James, the youngest son wasalready working in the Liverpool office and John junior returned fromIndia, where he had been acting as his father’s agent for some time.

Joseph, the eldest son no longer worked in the office as he had left in 1837 and Thomas had gone into the church, taking noactive role in the business; however Thomas’s descendants took over the running of the company from the third generationonwards.

For 24 years John and James were at the helm of John Bibby & Co, covering both the shipping and the metals business, but in1864 John backed out of the shipping activities to concentrate on the profitable metal business, leaving James to focus on theBibby Line, although the two businesses remained in the same building.

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1841

In 1841, as a tribute to their father, a540 ton sailing vessel the ‘John Bibby’,was the first vessel launched after hisdeath. Thus the name of the founderremained on Lloyd’s List in a wider sensefor many generations.

James Bibby took over the managementof the business in 1841 and, havingrecognised the virtues of steamers beganinvesting in iron steamships.

His foresight, wisdom and courage wereresponsible for the progress achievedand he became the first chairman of theLiverpool Steamship Owners Association.

1846Arthur Wilson Bibby born.

The “John Bibby”

B I B B Y S I X G E N E R A T I O N S

Doctor of LawsHigh Sheriff for the County of Shropshire

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1872

After his father’s death, John Bibby, second son of thefounder, took on the metal business. He lived in Allerton,South Liverpool and by 1872 was a wealthy man. Allertondidn’t have a local parish church at the time and so Johncommitted £20,000 to building one in memory of his wifeFanny who had died in 1856. Fanny was the daughter ofthe architect of the Albert Dock in Liverpool and had beenborn on All Hallows Eve in 1812. The foundation stone forthe new church, named ‘All Hallows’ was laid on that day,31 October.

The architect for the parish church was G Enoch Gregson,who designed it in a Gothic style, using local red sandstonefor the exterior and white Storeton stone inside. Aftersome protest from the local residents, it was agreed that nobells would be placed in the tower to prevent noisepollution in the quiet new rural parish. All Hallows churchwas completed in 1876 and consecrated by the Bishop ofChester as the Anglican Liverpool Diocese was not createduntil 1880. The founder’s plaque and John Bibby’s familycrypt reside within All Hallows Church.

1869

The iron screw shipBraganza, built in 1856,was lost in 1869 bound forLisbon due to a collisionwith another steamer. Shesank immediately with theloss of 22 lives. Nearly 125years later, in 1994, herwreck was found and herbell returned to thecompany by the divers.

1897

In 1897 James Bibby diedaged 84. In the course ofhis long life he wasaccorded the Honour ofDoctor of Laws andbecame High Sheriff forthe County of Shropshire.His will safeguarded thefuture of the Bibby Lineand he had stipulated in itthat the legacies hebequeathed to his wifeand daughters were not tobe provided by liquidatinghis steamship interests.

1870Following his decision in1870 to retire frombusiness, James Bibbygave his employee andgeneral managerFrederick RichardsLeyland power ofattorney. However, Jameshad his trust severelybetrayed when Leyland’sambition outstripped hisloyalty and, by abusingthe power of attorney, hedecided to give thecompany his own name.

1880James’ private yachtthe Jason continued tosail under the BibbyLine flag in the RoyalYacht Squadron and in1880, James re-enteredthe shipping world andre-launched the BibbyLine asking hisnephews, ArthurWilson Bibby andHerbert Kirkman Bibby,the sons of thefounder’s third sonThomas, to managethe business for him.

1859Edward Harland, a young NauticalEngineer and founder of the Belfastshipyard Harland & Wolff (whoeventually built the ‘Titanic’), was afriend and protégé of James Bibby.In 1859 Bibby Line’s ‘Venetian’ wasthe first vessel built by the Belfastshipyard Harland & Wolff. Of thefirst 21 ships built by the yard 18were for the Bibby Line. It states inthe official history of this yard …“this is the history of the Belfastshipyard Harland & Wolff and theLiverpool based Bibby Line. Withoutthe Bibby family there would neverhave been a Harland & Wolff”.

The “Braganza” Bell All Hallows Church

Frederick Richards LeylandThe “Venetian” The “Jason” Yacht Crew

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ARTHUR WILSON BIBBY

1846 - 1935

1879

THIRD GENERATION

The three sons of the ReverendThomas Bibby, Herbert, Arthur andErnest did not have automatic entryinto the family shipping business runby their uncles John and James, sostarted their careers elsewhere.

Arthur set up as a produce broker in partnership with FrederickLedward while also having his own ship broking business untilhis Uncle James agreed to develop the Bibby Line giving him themanager’s role in Bibby Brothers & Co.

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1880

In 1880 Arthur Wilson Bibby, now theguiding force in the fortunes of BibbyLine realised the vast potential of theBurma trade and ordered two newsteamers from Harland & Wolff –‘Lancashire’ and ‘Yorkshire’, markingthe beginning of the practice ofnaming Bibby ships after English ‘shire’counties. Under his chairmanshipBibby Line went from strength tostrength with its reputation andintegrity firmly secured.

Arthur Wilson Bibby also gainedsubstantial trooping contracts forBibby Line. ‘Yorkshire’ was the first of the Bibby fleet to be engaged as a troopship in the Boer War and became known during this phase as No. 14 Transport. 1891

In 1891 Lancashire recorded thebest time for the run to Burma in23 days and 20 hours – a record sheheld for six years -and Bibby Lineestablished superiority on the routegaining the reputation for reliabilityby never having a voyage disrupted.

The vessels were for first classpassengers only who were wellentertained. As the ships had no airconditioning at that time thepassengers travelling to and fromthe Far East always booked ‘portout starboard home’ – a phraseabbreviated by Bibby Line and othershipping companies to POSH.

1889Harold Bibby born.

B I B B Y S I X G E N E R A T I O N S

Yorkshire 1889

Lancashire 1889

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1902

In 1902 Bibby Line becameone of the “Four B’s” andwas voted by the tradeunions as ‘the ideal type ofemployer’. The other threewere Birchalls, Blue Funnelland Booth Line – BibbyLine had the distinction ofbeing the longestestablished of the four.Now carrying cargoes aswell as passengers variousforms of entertainmentwere arranged on board,but lights were out strictlyat 10pm.

1914

At the outbreak of WW1the Bibby Line ships wererequisitioned to serve ashospital ships, troop shipsand armed merchantcruisers. ‘Oxfordshire’alone carried 53,000wounded during the war.By the end of the warBibby Line had carried over200,000 British and25,000 American troops.‘Worcestershire’ became acasualty of this war.

In 1935 Arthur WilsonBibby died and his sonArthur Harold Bibby tookover the reigns.

FRANK BIBBYCBE1857 - 1923

James’s son Frank Bibby, CBE was themajor shareholder of the Bibby Linebusiness while Arthur owned 25% ofthe shares and the whole managementcompany. Frank took on the role ofchairman of the shipping line and alsowent on to inherit his father’s largeestate in Shropshire, playing aprominent part in the activities of thatcounty. He was master of the northShropshire hounds and huntsman anda keen racing man, with many horses.Two of Frank’s horses won the GrandNational, Kirkland in 1905 andGlenside in 1911. At the outbreak ofWW1 he gave all his hunt horses tothe army, turning the extensive stablesof his home into a remount depot.

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Frank Bibby CBE

Oxfordshire 1912

1912From 1912 onwards, after theTitanic disaster, Bibby Line wereamongst the leading shipowners motorising all theirlifeboats. Another luxury wasadded at that time, passengerswere made more comfortableby having electric fans madeavailable to them.

1889Arthur Harold Bibby was born in 1889,the year ‘Lancashire’ and ‘Yorkshire’were launched. Joining the firm straightfrom Rugby School in 1907, he had afew years in the business before joiningthe army for the Great War in 1914.

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1930During the late 1930’s BibbyLine offered first class cruisesfor 10 days from less than £50which included …”ampleexercise, fresh air ventilation,with saloons, passages andstaterooms entirely free fromship’s smells”. Skittles andbowls were played on the clearmain deck thus providingpassengers with ample exerciseand avoiding the tediumsometimes experienced onboard a ship. The first voyagesailed with only 3 passengerson board as they werecommitted to carry cargoes!

1922Derek Bibby born.

Cruise Advert

B I B B Y S I X G E N E R A T I O N S

HAROLD BIBBY1889 - 1986

FOURTH GENERATION

DSO 1917; DL County of Chester1937 High Sheriff of the County of Chester; 1934-5Knight 1956, Baronet 1959LLD Liverpool University 1959

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1956

In honour of his contributions toindustry Harold was invested as aKnight and became Sir ArthurHarold Bibby, Bt. His adaptability tomodern demands and conditionswas an essential part of thecompany policy.

1945The government contractswere to continue until 1962and Harold and the Boardwere convinced that the Burmatrade would pick up again postwar. But post independenceBurma was politically andeconomically chaotic and tradewas slow to recover. Added tothat was the end of troopingfor the government, as airsuperseded sea as thepreferred means of transport.The last and largest purposebuilt troopship was theOxfordshire.

1970Harold was a staunchsupporter of the City ofLiverpool and was awardedthe ‘Freedom of the City’.

1935

Harold became chairman ofthe Bibby Line after his father’sdeath in 1935 and within fouryears the business wassuddenly and dramaticallycatapulted into the WWII.

Troop Ship Liverpool Town Hall

Oxfordshire Torpedoed

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1946Born in 1922 as the depression wasstarting Sir Derek left school to join thearmy during WWII where he wasawarded the Military Cross.

On returning after the war he went to Oxford University before joiningthe Liverpool office in 1946.

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19651965 marked the withdrawal of theBibby Line from the passenger tradeand several new projectstransformed the company almostout of recognition. Bibby Lineinvested in bulk carriers of over79,000 tons deadweight. The‘Pacific Bridge’ and the ‘AtlanticBridge’, later renamed ‘Dorsetshire’,were the largest vessels which couldpass through the Panama Canal.They also operated LPG ships;‘Wiltshire’ carried liquid propane,butane and anhydrous ammonia inthree specially insulated tanks; OBOs(ore, bulk, oil) like the ‘OceanBridge’, as well as general cargocarriers and container vessels.

1963Michael Bibby born.

1970

With Sir Derek at the helm thecompany more than trebledits overseas earnings and thetotal tonnage of the BibbyLine in the 1970s exceededone million tons but in thelate 70’s and early 80’s marketconditions deteriorated andmany UK shipping companiesbecame bankrupt.

Ocean Bridge

B I B B Y S I X G E N E R A T I O N S

DEREK JAMES BIBBY

1922 - 2002

FIFTH GENERATION

MC 1945, Baronet 1986DL of Cheshire 1987

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2002Sir Derek Bibby died.

1977In the late 1970s the world widedepression also hit the Bibby Lineand ships had to be sold and staffmade redundant. It was touchand go if the company wouldsurvive. But, with the astutemanagement ability of Sir Derek,Bibby Line pulled through.

1982In 1982 Bibby Line had nine shipsremaining in its fleet and beganto diversify its maritime businessto include interests such asCoastels and jack up platforms.

1986Sir Harold Bibby died.

Manx Ship Management was formed in 1986 in the Isle of Man, toemploy seafarers serving on Bibby Line and third party vessels, changingits name to Bibby International Services (IOM) in 1991 and thenrenamed again to Bibby Ship Management (Western Europe) in 2008.This arm of the ship management business continues to train cadets.

Asked by an interviewer why he remained so committed to shipping Sir Derek’s response was “perhaps my family has an inherited streak ofmadness, though I comfort myself that you are only really mad whenyou don’t know that you are mad. The ship owning type of madness isan advantage as it helps understand traders and brokers who areequally mad, but in different sorts of ways!”

During 1986, after nearly one hundred years, descendants of JamesJenkinson Bibby disposed of their majority shareholding in the businesswhich was acquired through a number of trusts.

1980

In September 1980 came thetragic loss of the oil bulk orecarrier ‘MV Derbyshire’ with all hands. She wasoverwhelmed by a typhoon inthe South China Sea. Thisremains, to this day, Britain’sbiggest peace time loss.

1985

At the beginning of 1985 Sir Derek becameChairman, and in 1992 became president of thecompany.

Simon Sherrard, equipped with 10 years'experience with Jardine Matheson in the FarEast took over as Managing Director with amandate to broaden the base of the business.

From the mid-1980s Bibby Line Group expandedto include Bibby Financial Services and BibbyDistribution. The company also acquired a 50%share in Botany Bay Shipping, an Australianbased operator of chemical carriers.

The Coastel ‘Bibby Venture’ was chartered forfive years to the New York Department ofCorrection as a floating detention facility.Her sister vessel, ‘Bibby Resolution’, waschartered on similar terms to the same client.

1992

In 1992 the company moved itshead office to 105 Duke Street, abuilding dating from 1800. Firstused as a newspaper office it ceasedto operate in 1840 and in 1852 thebuilding became Liverpool’s firstpublic library until 1860. TetleyBrewers then took it over as theirhead office until 1991.

In 1992 Michael Bibby, the eldestson of five children to Sir Derek andLady Bibby joined as Finance Directorfor Bibby Line, later becoming theirManaging Director. In 2000 SimonSherrard became Non-ExecutiveChairman of Bibby Line Group andMichael became the ManagingDirector of Bibby Line Group.

Coaste lDerbyshire

Duke Street

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2002Under Sir Michael’s leadership theBibby Line Group business of todayhas successfully expanded and grownbeyond all recognition.

Today the Bibby Line Group is a business services groupinvolved in ship owning and operation, shallow wateraccommodation, offshore oil & gas services, contract logistics,financial services, memorial parks, compliance managementservices, retail and specialist plant hire and sales.

12 B I B B Y S I X G E N E R A T I O N S

MICHAEL JAMES BIBBY

1963

SIXTH GENERATION

Baronet 2002LLD Liverpool University 2012 Bibby Financial Services

2003Bibby Offshore division established afterthe consolidation of all offshore activitiestrading from its head office in Aberdeen.

Bibby Offshore

2002

Bibby Financial Services began tradingoverseas and today has a network ofoperations in UK, Europe, USA, Canada,Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong,India and Singapore.

Bibby Line, as a member of aconsortium, won a major order for sixroll-on, roll-off ships for the provision ofa strategic sealift capability to theMinistry of Defence.

2005The LPG carriers were sold ata high point in the market.

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2007

In 2005 and 2007 the shipping division sold all of its tankers, chemical tankers and jack upplatforms with the Group using the funds toinvest in developing the Offshore interests,building up the Coastel fleet and acquiring amajority stake in the fascia group Costcutter,which runs a network of over 1,600 storesthroughout the UK. Most of the Costcutterbranded stores are convenience stores ownedby retailers keen to maintain theirindependence. The fascia business became partof the Bibby Retail Services division and acquiredthe off licence chain Rhythm & Booze in 2012.

During the company’s bicentenary year acorporate social responsibility programme,‘Giving Something Back’, was embeddedthroughout the global business, encouragingemployees to volunteer and fundraise forcharities.

GreenAcres Giving Something Back

Costcutter

2006In 2006 Bibby Line Group purchased theemployment law and health & safetyservices business mhl support, in 2010the business changed its name to BibbyConsulting & Support and continues tooffer a superior service to their clients.Colney Memorial Parks in Norwich wasacquired at the same time offering anatural alternative to traditional burialsand cremations. This purchase by theGroup supported the business to grow,seeing two further parks opened by2010 in Epping and Beaconsfield. Thebusiness was renamed in 2012 asGreenAcres Woodland Burial Parks.

2008Purchase of Garic, a specialistplant and equipment hirebusiness which is mostly usedon construction sites andinfrastructure projects.

2012Bibby Marine acquired thehydrographic and geophysicalsurvey firm, Osiris Projects.

2013Costcutter forms a strategic partnership withPalmer & Harvey (P&H) to launch the Buyco a jointventure buying company. P&H's Mace, Your Storeand Supershop also join Costcutter.

In August 2013 the sale of Bibby Consulting andSupport to Citation Limited was announced. Laterin the same month the sale was completedof the shares held by Bibby Holdings in Forelandto Hadley Shipping.

Today Bibby Line Group operates globally across adiverse range of industries and stands as a greatexample of how strong family values can becombined successfully with talented and motivatedpeople to deliver outstanding performance.

At any hour, somewhere in the world, the Bibby Line Group will be at work.

The business continues to grow year onyear and is truly powered by its people,here's to the next 200 years...

105 Duke Street • Liverpool • L1 5JQ • T: +44 (0)151 708 8000 • W: www.bibbylinegroup.co.uk

The dates shown on the front cover reflect the year in which each generation became MD / Chairman of the Bibby Line Group.