| Administrative History | The company was established in 1864 as a partnership between brothers James and William Hall; Thomas Russell, a Glasgow engineer; and John Cardno Couper of Sussex and its premises at Footdee was known as the Aberdeen Iron Works. In 1868 the company produced its first steam ship for maritime trade in the far east. When Aberdeen became a trawling port in the 1890s the company expanded and built many fishing vessels. During World War I the company was involved in creating craft for minesweeping activities, and this role increased during World War II when the company built anti-aircraft escort vessels, salvage ships, and other wartime vessels. The company's yard was bombed in 1940 and this resulted in 34 deaths. Hall & Russell became part of the state-owned British shipbuilders in 1977 but was privatised in 1986 and classed as a warship yard, leading to its decline and liquidation in 1989. It was the last of the Aberdeen shipbuilders to close in 1992. |