LUKE THOMAS​
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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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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.
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.
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 first line and the second, public line, was charged to the public at 9 annas for a 16-word message. A third line connected the Luke Thomas premises in Steamer Point with their coal yards and water 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.
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 1960'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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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.
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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.
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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.
Luke Thomas Building on the corner with Cowasjee Dinshaw Building to its left on the Prince of Wales Crescent, Steamer Point.