GEORGE GIBSON & CO. LTD.

Published flags disagree over black, red or, in an 1895 source, blue letters, and over whether dots follow some, all or none of them. Buff funnels were reportedly used occasionally on passenger vessels before 1914. Brown gives G218 a narrow white flag band, as does Reed 1901, whereas Reed 1891 makes it wider. A photograph of Eildon confirms the G218 funnel. Almanacco combines the G217 flag with G219’s buff funnel. Rosanoski identifies the National Maritime Museum version, G216, with red letters and dots; his notes give differing dates of about 1951 and about 1955–1967. He contrasts Wedge’s narrow white band in 1926, 1929 and 1934 with the equal bands shown by most other contemporary publications.

Ships & The Sea describes the funnel as now black, identifying the change with G218.

The former Rankine ships retained these funnels after the 1920 merger until Bowling was sunk in 1939. Rosanoski omitted a flag here because its versions were uncertain.

British Coastal Ships, Tugs & Ferries illustrates this funnel but warns that some vessels may carry charterers’ colours.

The funnel carries the crossed flags of Gibson and Jas. Rankine & Son, following Stewart’s placement. Stewart omits dots after the letters; LJC makes the white flag band very broad. Coastal Ships identifies the funnel with Gibson-Rankine routes.

Marinart’s wording calls the “flag” black, with or without the houseflag, but Rosanoski notes that its illustration does not fit this description. Mitchell appears to identify the emblem as a yellow seahorse.

An undated Amsterdam harbour flagchart shows Gibson Rankine Line’s white flag with a TV-screen-shaped rope surrounding two crossed, masted flags. The hoist-side flag is Gibson’s. Rosanoski identifies the other as Rankine’s: five horizontal bands, red, white, blue, white and red, with white letters on the blue. His adjacent notes give the letters as both GR&AS and GR&SA, contrasting them with FOTW’s GG&Co. Sources differ between equal bands and a wider blue band, and also over the relative widths of red and white. Rosanoski found this composite flag in no other source, although the crossed flags appeared on funnels on certain routes.