 Shipbuilding at Henry Robb's Yard, shown on the Leith Mural | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Shipbuilding |
| Founded | 1918 |
| Defunct | 1983 |
| Fate | Closed |
| Headquarters | Leith,Edinburgh, Scotland |
Key people | Henry Robb |
Henry Robb, Limited, known colloquially asRobbs, was a Scottishshipbuilding company based atLeith Docks inEdinburgh. Robbs built small-to-medium sized vessels, particularlytugs anddredgers.
The company was founded on 1 April 1918 by Henry Robb, a former yard manager forRamage & Ferguson shipbuilders, which lay around 1 km to the east.[1]Robb was born in Partick, Glasgow in 1874 to Henry Robb (1843-1894), a ships caulker, and his wife Martha Simpson (1840–78). He married Mary Baird Mcintosh Cowan in 1903 and their son, Henry Cowan Robb (1932-2018), became a Director of the firm. Henry Robb died in Edinburgh in 1951.
Robbs grew by buying berths fromHawthorns in 1924, the business of Cran and Somerville in 1926 and the yards of Ramage and Ferguson in 1934.[1] The site became known as Victoria Shipyard.[2]
Robbs closed itsArbroath andClyde operations in the 1920s and focused its activities on Leith.[3]
DuringWorld War II, Robbs built a large number of warships for theRoyal Navy, including preparing the designs and building the prototype of theBasset-classanti-submarine /minesweeping trawler.[1] ThreeBird-class corvettes were built for theRoyal New Zealand Navy. Ordered in 1939, two of these ships famously sank theJapanese submarine I-1 in January 1943,[4] while the third ship helped sinkJapanese submarine I-17 seven months later.[5]
On 26 February 1940King George VI andQueen Elizabeth toured the shipyard.[6] The King visited a second time on 29 July 1943.[7]
In 1963 Robbs took over the neighbouring long-standing shipbuilding yard ofMenzies & Co.[8]
In 1968 Robbs merged with theCaledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Company ofDundee, formingRobb Caledon Shipbuilding,[9] and in 1969 the new company took over theBurntisland Shipbuilding Company inFife. In 1977, under the provisions of theAircraft and Shipbuilding Industries Act 1977, Robb Caledon wasnationalised as part ofBritish Shipbuilders. The Caledon yard in Dundee closed in 1981. Robb's yard in Leith survived two more years, closing in 1983.[9]
The site of Robb's shipyard is now theOcean Terminal shopping centre, where theformer Royal YachtBritannia is berthed.[10] An early 20th-century pitched roof paint shed that once belonged to the yard, built from rivetted iron plates, survives and was aCategory B listed building before being relocated.[11]
The yard features in the video to the song "Letter From America" (1987) byThe Proclaimers, whose father worked in the yard. The overall sentiment of the song stresses the loss of Scotland's traditional industries and the mass emigration of Scots to North America due to circumstances such as theHighland Clearances.
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Storage Ships
Armed Trawlers
Other Minesweepers
Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships
Bustler-class oceanrescue tugsBuilt during WW2 these huge tugs could manage huge ships over long distances and were used to tow the sections of theMulberry Harbour during the D-Day Landings[12]
Other Tugs
Ships for Robertson Line
Other Ships
Wild Duck-classRMAScable-laying andsalvage ships
| Yard No | Name | Type | Launch | Owner/Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 216 | Argos | cargo | 1935 | Cia. Argentina de Lanchas, Buenos Aires |
| 267 | South Steyne | Manly ferry | 1 April 1938 | Port Jackson & Manly Steamship Company |
| 355 | SSTinto | cargo | 1947 | Ellerman's Wilson Line |
| 356 | SSTruro | cargo | 1947 | Ellerman's Wilson Line |
| 357 | SSBravo | cargo | 1947 | Ellerman's Wilson Line |
| 358 | SSSilvio | cargo | 1947 | Ellerman's Wilson Line |
| 361 | MVKaitangata | cargo | 1948 | Union Steamship Company |
| 362 | MVKonui | cargo | 1949 | Union Steamship Company |
| 375 | MVKaitawa | collier | 1949 | Union Steamship Company |
| 376 | MVKaiapoi | cargo | 1949 | Union Steamship Company |
| 377 | MVKamona | cargo | 1949 | Union Steamship Company |
| 379 | MVMombasa | passenger/cargo | 1950 | British India Steam Navigation Company |
| 399 | MVKawatiri | cargo | 1950 | Union Steamship Company |
| 393 | MVMtwara | passenger/cargo | 1951 | British India Steam Navigation Company |
| 398 | MVWaimate | cargo | 1951 | Union Steamship Company |
| 400 | MVKokiri | cargo | 1951 | Union Steamship Company |
| 406 | MVCavallo | cargo | 1951 | Ellerman's Wilson Line |
| 407 | MVTrentino | cargo | 1952 | Ellerman's Wilson Line |
| 418 | MVWareatea | refrigerated cargo | 1952 | William Holyman and Sons Pty., Melbourne |
| 427 | MVMarwick Head | cargo | 1952 | A.F. Henry & MacGregor, Leith |
| 426 | MVKaramu | refrigerated cargo | 1953 | Union Steamship Company |
| 428 | MVLongfellow | cargo | 1953 | Rodney Steamship Company |
| 430 | MVGolden Bay | bulk carrier | 1954 | Tarakohe Shipping Co, Wellington |
| 434 | MVAuby | passenger/cargo | 1954 | Sarawak Steam Ship Company, Singapore |
| 437 | SSCicero | refrigerated cargo | 1954 | Ellerman's Wilson Line |
| 438 | SSRollo | refrigerated cargo | 1954 | Ellerman's Wilson Line |
| 443 | MVKaitoa | cargo | 1956 | Union Steamship Company |
| 448 | MVKaimai | cargo | 1956 | Union Steamship Company |
| 456 | MVKumalla | cargo | 1956 | Union Steamship Company |
| 457 | MVKonini | cargo | 1957 | Union Steamship Company |
| 508 | RRS Bransfield | ice-strengthened research vessel | 4 September 1970 | British Antarctic Survey |
| 515 | MV Pioneer | ferry | 4 January 1974 | Caledonian MacBrayne |
| 516 | S.A. Wolraad Woltemade | salvage tug | 15 May 1975 | South African Marine Corporation |
| 521 | MVBorthwick[13] | LPG Tanker | 1977 | Geo. Gibson & Co. |
| 522 | Claymore | ferry | 31 August 1978 | Caledonian MacBrayne |
| 530[14] | THV Patricia | lighthouse tender | 1982[15] | Trinity House |
| 534 | MV St Catherine | ferry | 1983 | Sealink/Wightlink |
| 535 | MV St Helen | ferry | 1983 | Sealink/Wightlink |