Mαίρη M. [Λέσβος, Κορυτσά - Hound, Mary M., Lesvos, Korytsa]

[Nicholas Peppas]

Mary M. is an extremely well known Greek passenger ship, one of only three ships that survived World War II! I am showing her with all three names because she was equally well known to the old timers with all names... And I am setting her in teh pre-war ships as most of her history was before World War II.

Mary M. was built as Hound, a rather well known British ship. The Hound was built at the Fairfield Shipyard in Govan in 1893. She was an 1,106-ton, 76.3 m long ship with a good service speed of 15.5 knots and a three-cylinder engine. She served on the Ardrossan (Western England) to Belfast (Northern Ireland) route and later in the Royal Mail Line between Glasgow (Scotland) and Belfast in the colours of G & J Burns and Burns & Laird.

Here is a wonderful photograph from 1905

Hound in 1905.jpg

Hound's launching is well described here.

Hound1.jpg
Hound2.jpg

Miramar lists her as follows:

IDNo: 1099892 Year: 1893
Name: HOUND Launch Date: 1.3.93
Type: Passenger ship Date of completion: 4.93
Flag: GBR Keel:
Tons: 1106 Link: 1556
DWT: Yard No: 370
Length overall: Ship Design:
LPP: 76.3 Country of build: GBR
Beam: 9.8 Builder: Fairfield
Material of build: Location of yard: Govan
Number of screws/Mchy/ Speed(kn): 1T-15.5
Owner as Completed: G.& J.Burns Ltd, Glasgow
Subsequent History: 25 MARY M. - 33 LESBOS - 42 KORYTZA
Disposal Data:BU 49

Name Tons Change Main Owner
HOUND 1106 1893 G.& J.Burns
MARY M. 1106 1925 M.G.A.Manuelides
LESBOS 1106 1933 Hellenic Coast Lines
KORYTZA 1106 1942 Hellenic Coast Lines

Mary M came to Greece in 1925 as was added to the fleet Manuelides Line.

Athanassios (Thanassis) Manuelides was born in Raidestos, East Thrace (today's Tekir Dag, Turkey) in 1888. He studied at the Halki School and then in Germany. His oldest brother Manolis went to Bacu (today's capital of Azerbaijan) where he became a commercial agent of ships carrying oil. His brotehrs Yorgo sand Thanassis followed him. There, Thanassis met and married Mania Alexeyeva. They had two daughters, Elena and Mary, who gave their names to two of their father's most famous ships.

The Manuelides family left Bacu in 1924 and went first to Paris and then to Athens. There, Thanassis Manuelides established the Manuelides Line with
--- Era M. later the famous Hellas http://www.nautilia.gr/forum/showthread.php?t=61454
--- Mary M. later Lesvos; and
--- Elena M. later Kriti (this last one will be presented very soon)

Thanassis Manuelides was President of the Greek Shipowners in 1933-35. As for his company, they merged into Aktoploia tis Ellados in 1932. After World War II he participated in the founding of ELMES as one of its main stock holders. He served as Acting Director of ELMES until his death in 1954.