The issue of new stamps this week commemorating the British Furness Withy shipping company is a reminder of the critical role it played in Bermuda's fledgling tourism industry between the two World Wars.

Furness Withy not only brought the first significant numbers of tourists to the Island aboard its ships, it also built some of the most important hotels.

The company's contribution to the Country can also be measured against the steady decline of the agricultural industry which began after World War One.

Furness Withy moved aggressively into the Bermuda market in 1919 when it bought the Quebec Steamship Company which had been bringing both cargo and passengers to Bermuda since 1873.

Soon after, Furness Withy launched an ambitious hotel building programme that began with the construction of the Bermudiana Hotel in 1920. That project was followed by the St. George's Hotel, the Mid Ocean Club and finally the Castle Harbour Hotel, built during the depths of recession.

But it was Furness Withy's ships, which sailed as members of the Furness Bermuda Line, that identified the company so closely with the Island and its residents.

With the 1919 purchase of the Quebec Steamship Company, Furness acquired the 11,000 ton passenger liner Bermudian which it promptly refitted and converted from coal to oil fuel. The vessel was re-named Fort Hamilton and sailed from New York to Bermuda for the first time on December 18, 1919.

Also in 1919, Furness purchased two 14,000 ton ships and, after conversion to oil, renamed them Fort Victoria and Fort St. George .

In 1923, Furness withdrew the Fort Hamilton , though it continued with its two other ships through to 1928 when they were joined by the 28,750-ton Bermuda .

Bermuda's success prompted Furness to build the even bigger Monarch of Bermuda at 28,000 tons, which first sailed to Bermuda in 1931.

Furness's Bermuda history included two shipping disasters. The first occurred on December 18, 1929 when Fort Victoria was rammed by the Algonquin while leaving New York in dense fog. She sank in three-and-a-half hours without loss of life.

The second disaster struck the company on June 17, 1931 when fire broke out on the Bermuda while she was tied up alongside Front Street. While undergoing repairs in Belfast, a second fire destroyed the vessel. The loss left Furness with only two ships, the now inadequate Fort St. George and the chartered Veendam which was taken on following the loss of Fort Victoria .

Before the Monarch of Bermuda began regular sailings, Furness chartered the Franconia from Cunard Line which first sailed in 1931. The ship was later replaced by her sister ship, the Carinthia .

The Monarch sailed in November, 1931 and her success led the company to build the Queen of Bermuda . These two ships anchored the line's New York Bermuda business until the outbreak of the Second World War and becoming the company's best known vessels.

The war took the two ships out of business. The Monarch served as a troop transporter for the entire war while the Queen first did duty as an armed cruiser and later as a transporter.

In 1949, following a complete refit, the Queen of Bermuda returned to the New York-Bermuda service. In the same year and during a refit, the Monarch of Bermuda was severely damaged by fire and never returned to local service.

To pick up the slack, Furness operated the Fort Amherst and Fort Townshend between Halifax, New York and Bermuda.

Increasing competition from air travel led Furness Withy to not replace the Monarch of Bermuda with a similar-size vessel. Instead, the company built the smaller Ocean Monarch . She sailed for the first time in May, 1951, an event that coincided with the withdrawal of Fort Amherst and Fort Townshend .

In the early 1960s, air travel competition intensified and finally forced Furness Withy to withdraw from the New York-Bermuda service. The Ocean Monarch's last sail from the Island took place in September, 1966.

Two months later, the Queen of Bermuda left on her final voyage, ending the company's 47-year partnership with the Island. * * * The information for the article was drawn from the Bermuda Post Office's history of the company.