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P & A Campbell was a shipping company based in Bristol from 1893 to 1979 which operated steamship services in the Bristol Channel.
Contents
History
Peter and Alexander Campbell were the sons of Captain Bob Campbell, who ran a steamboat on the River Clyde. In 1887 their paddle steamer Waverley was moved from the Clyde to the Bristol Channel and they set up the White Funnel fleet for coastal cruising.
They had a shaky start when they were summoned before the Bristol Magistrates in July 1887 for having an uncertified engineer for the Waverley.
The company was formally formed in 1893 and they used the White Funnel image as a company logo. During the First World War, twelve of the fleet were requisitioned by the Admiralty as minesweepers and a troop ship. Two ships, Brighton Queen and Lady Ismay were lost.
During the Second World War the fleet was requisitioned again. Four new vessels were planned after the war, but only PS Bristol Queen and PS Cardiff Queen were built. They lasted until 1967 and 1968 respectively. After this the company used motor vessels until 1979 when it finally folded.
The company had a brief fling with high speed craft in the summer of 1963, using the experimental SRN2 as a ferry between Penarth and Weston-super-Mare.
Archives
Records of P & A Campbell are held at Bristol Archives (Ref. 37980) (online catalogue 1), (Ref. 40140) (online catalogue 2), (Ref. 40505) (online catalogue 3).