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Arriving in Aden in 1842, just 3 years after
its capture by Commander
Haines, Captain Luke Thomas
became agent for the P&O Company, which at
that time had just one small steamer
delivering mail to Aden once a month. Around
1847 he ventured into a banking system for
soldiers of the British garrison, accepting
deposits and remitting funds to their
families in England. Business went well and
in 1856 he took in 29 year-old
Cowasjee
Dinshaw as partner. 1857 saw the company
incorporated as Luke Thomas & Co. Limited
which continued as P&O agent till 1865.
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Luke Thomas
Building built in 1886 and adjoining
Cowasjee
Dinshaw Building. This image is seen on
postcards with the description The Agency
of Union Castle, B.I.S.N. Co. (British India
Steam Navigation Company) and Japanese
Mail Service, Aden. Some have mistakenly
believed this to be the Steamer Point Post
Office.
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By 1855 other shipping lines were competing
with P & O and so Capt. Thomas branched into
the coaling of ships and the very first
shipload of coal to pass through the Suez
Canal following its opening in 1869 was consigned to Capt. Thomas.
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Known as a technical innovator he
designed a new cooling system for water
condensers, a new lifeboat davit, and a
telegraphic system to link the various parts
of Aden. He was responsible for
perfecting the ship coaling system and his
factory at Hedjuff was the finest in South
Arabia. |
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He established a telegraph system comprising
two landlines between Crater and Steamer
Point, one which connected the Residency to
the Resident's Office and the other as a
public line. The Government paid Luke Thomas
& Co. an annual rent for the two lines. A
third line connected the Luke Thomas
premises in Steamer Point with their coal
yards and their condensing plant near the
Little Pass at Hedjuff. Distilled drinking
water from the 12,000 gallon per day condensing plant would be
sold to the public but more importantly to
shipping. There was also an ice-making plant
capable of producing 4 tons a day.
Cowasjee Dinshaw building located on the Prince of
Wales Crescent, Steamer Point. The darker,
turreted building on the right is that of
Luke Thomas & Co.
Despite being technically advanced the
company in 1876 still had no office, and the
bank had no safe for the banking deposits!
Frederick Atkinson joined the company and
soon brought it up to an advanced
administrative standard. Atkinson was
appointed Managing Director in 1881 and
became Chairman when Capt. Thomas died in
1886. By the mid 196o's the Atkinson family
were still associated with Luke Thomas &
Co., the Managing director being Frederick
Atkinsons great-grandson, Mr W.S. Atkinson.
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National
Bank of India Ltd. |
An imposing new colonial-style office
building adjoining the
Cowasjee
Dinshaw Building was completed in 1886
from where the banking business under the
name 'Bank of Aden' flourished. However,
business was affected by competition with the opening of
the National Bank of India Ltd. in 1895. |
During the 1880's most provisions for Aden
were supplied from Somaliland. During the
monsoon season native ships did not leave
port and supplies ran short. This
unsatisfactory situation prompted the Aden
authorities to ask Luke Thomas & Co., then
the only British firm in Aden, to enter the
steamship business, which they did for a
short time.
The late 1800's saw the company embroiled in
bitter competition with the
Perim Coal
Company but the situation improved with the
onset of the First World War which was
followed by a boom in the coaling business.
During 1943 the Hedjuff workshop repaired
144 H.M. ships, and a further 375 in 1944 to
high commendation from the Admiralty.
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Oil was increasingly being used by
ships which saw the tide turn for the worse
yet again for the coaling business, with
trade diminishing and indeed looking bleak
by the onset of World War II. Despite a boom
in the coaling business after WWII the
directors saw the writing on the wall and
expanded the company's trading activities.
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