History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications
from the first submarine cable of 1850 to the worldwide fiber optic network

The Commercial Cable Company
by Bill Glover

The Commercial Cable Company was formed in 1883 by John Mackay, a mining magnate, and James Gordon Bennett, owner of the New York Herald (which he inherited from his father, also named James Gordon Bennett), to compete with the Western Union Atlantic service. Six Atlantic cables were laid for the company, the first in 1884 and the last in 1923.

The first two Atlantic cables were manufactured and laid by Siemens Brothers using CS Faraday (1). Cable routes and lengths were as follows:- Dover Bay, Nova Scotia to New York 826 nm. Dover Bay - Waterville, Ireland 2399 nm and a second cable over the same route 2281 nm. From Waterville one cable, 330 nm long, ran to Weston super Mare, England, and the other, 514 nm in length, ran from Waterville to Le Havre, France. Once these cables were in operation they took a great deal of business away from Anglo American and Western Union.

1893 World's Fair Souvenir Cablegram

It was not until 1894 that a third Atlantic cable of 2161 nm was laid; again Siemens Brothers manufactured the cable and used CS Faraday (1) to lay it, the route being the same as that used for the 1884 cables.

Folder for CCC Map of Paris, undated, but the sign in the office window reads: "Three Duplexed Cables to the United States, so the period is 1894-1900

In 1900 Siemens Brothers, again using CS Faraday (1), laid the first part of a fourth Atlantic cable for the company, this time however the route was Nova Scotia - Horta, Azores. A total of 1698 nm of cable was used in this expedition. The second leg of the cable from Horta to Waterville was laid in 1901 and once again the same manufacturer and cable ship was used. The length of the cable was 1204 nm. An additional cable was laid between Nova Scotia and New York by CS Silvertown, owned by the India Rubber, Gutta Percha and Telegraph Works Company, who also manufactured the cable. The Waterville - Weston super Mare cable was manufactured and laid by the Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company using CS Anglia.

The Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company undertook the manufacture of the fifth cable in 1905 using CS Anglia to lay the Waterville - Weston super Mare cable and the main cable across the Atlantic with CS Colonia and CS Cambria assisted by CS Mackay Bennett laying the Nova Scotia - New York cable.

Postcards showing the Waterville Cable Station

The sixth and final cable was split between the two manufacturers, Siemens Brothers making and laying the New York - Canso, Nova Scotia, cable in 1923 using CS Faraday (2). The Telegraph Construction and Maintenance Company undertook the manufacture and laying of the rest. This cable went via Horta, Azores, on to Waterville, Ireland, and then to Le Havre, France. CS Colonia laid the main cable and a chartered vessel, T. W. Stuart, was used to lay the shore ends at Horta, Waterville and Le Havre.

Postcard showing the cable station of the Commercial Cable Company at Greenwood Avenue, Far Rockaway, Long Island, New York. Seven Atlantic cables ran into this office from the cable landing at Beach 16th Street.

Postcards showing the Canso Cable Station at Hazel Hill

Commercial Cable Co., Hazel Hill, Canso, N.S. Finest equipped Cable Office in the World

When the Anglo American telegraph concession in Newfoundland ran out in 1906 CS Mackay Bennett diverted the two 1884 cables into St. Johns and a cable was laid direct from St. Johns to New York along with an extra link between Waterville and Weston super Mare.

Christmas & New Year Greetings Telegram Form for December 1929 to January 1930. Used to send standard messages, listed on the reverse, at reduced rates

Souvenir ashtray, American Cable & Radio System Image courtesy of Mark Frankena

In 1928 the Commercial Cable Company merged with Mackay Radio & Telegraph and All America Cables, to form the American Cable & Radio Corporation, the major shareholder in this company being the International Telephone and Telegraph Corporation.

At the end of 1961 five of the above cables were still in operation; one of the original 1884 cables was no longer in use. The company applied to the Federal Communication Commission for permission to abandon all five cables. This was granted, leaving the company free of the burden of cable maintenance. By this time the American Cable & Radio Corporation already leased one circuit in both TAT 1 and TAT 2 and so had a greater capacity, as each telephone circuit was capable of carrying twenty two telegraph circuits.

Around the same time operational changes were made and from then on all telegraph circuits were leased by ITT World Communications Inc., although the Commercial Cable Company name was still in use on stationery and offices. The remaining cable ship, CS John W Mackay, was transferred to the Commercial Cable (Marine) Company Ltd., finally being scrapped in 1994.

COMMERCIAL CABLE COMPANY OF CUBA

In 1907 the Commercial Cable Company formed a subsidiary company, the Commercial Cable Company of Cuba. The company awarded a contract to the India Rubber, Gutta Percha and Telegraph Works Company to manufacture and lay a cable from New York to Havana. CS Silvertown laid the 1288 nm cable. On formation, All America Cables leased this cable as their main link between the USA and Cuba.

Deferred telegram from Toronto, Canada to Otley, Yorkshire, UK. The message had been telephoned to the addressee and the telegram was sent as confirmation.	1923 letter selling the Commercial Cable Company's service

CS MACKAY-BENNETT
(Official Number 89965)

Built 1884 by John Elder & Co., Govan, Glasgow

Length 270.00 ft. Breadth 40.00 ft. Depth 24.5 ft. Gross tonnage 1700

At the same time as the order for the first cables was placed with Siemens Brothers, an order was placed with John Elder & Company, Govan, Scotland, for a cable repair ship to maintain these cables. The vessel was launched in 1884 with the name CS Mackay-Bennett, and was normally based at Halifax, Nova Scotia.

In September and October 1899 a series of yacht races, known as the America's Cup, took place between the British challenger Shamrock, owned by Sir Thomas Lipton, and the American yacht Columbia. The owner of the New York Herald and co-owner of Commercial arranged for Marconi to set up his wireless telegraph to report on the races. One set of equipment was put aboard CS Mackay-Bennett and was operated by T. Bowden, assistant telegraphist to Marconi. Another set was placed aboard the Puerto Rico Line vessel the Ponce, but part way through the series of races it had to be moved to the Grande Duchesse. Marconi transmitted the signals to Bowden who in turn sent them to W.W. Bradfield who was in the New York Herald building. From here the reports were transmitted over the land telegraph and via Commercial's cables to the UK.

After the Titanic disaster CS Mackay-Bennett, at the time berthed in Halifax, was chartered to recover those who lost their lives. Bodies that could be identified were stored in the cable tanks which were partly filled with ice, unidentified bodies were buried at sea.

The ship was taken out of service in 1922 and used as a cable storage hulk in Plymouth Sound. During WW2 she was sunk during the blitz on Plymouth, but was refloated, and remained there until 1965 when she was towed to Ghent, Belgium, for breaking up.

CS MARIE LOUISE MACKAY

Built 1922 by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd.

Length 234.00 ft. Breadth 34.2 ft. Depth 22.2ft. Gross tonnage 1378

Built as a replacement for CS Mackay Bennett to carry out cable maintenance work. Sold for scrap in 1961 to Belgian shipbreakers.

CS CABLE GUARDIAN

Built 1945 by Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd.

Length 252.00 ft. Breadth 36.4 ft. Depth 22.3 ft. Gross tonnage 1538

One of four identical vessels built for the Royal Navy and Admiralty Cable Service, this one originally being named CS Bullhead. Sold to Cable & Wireless Ltd. in 1946 and renamed CS Electra (2). After purchase the vessel was refitted and then spent the next thirteen years in the West Indies on cable maintenance duties. Sold to the Commercial Cable Company in 1959 and renamed CS Cable Guardian. Sold for scrap to Scottish shipbreakers in 1964.

Other cable ships owned and operated by the company which are described elsewhere on the site:

For more information on the Commercial Cable Company's cables at Weston-super-Mare, England, see John Crellin's site

And for the history of the other end of the cables, in Nova Scotia, see The Cable Story in Canso

See also this 1886 article from The Telegraphist on the Commercial Cable Company and CS Mackay-Bennett, this 1886 article on the Canso Cable Station, and this 1915 article on the making and laying of the CCC's cables.

For much information on Clarence H. Mackay, who became president of the Commercial Cable Company in 1902 after his father's death, see Bill McLoughlin's Mackay website

See this page on Henry Ash, an amateur artist who made many sketches during Faraday's cable expeditions between 1879 and 1900

The Commercial Cable Rehabilitation Society is working on restoring the Canso cable station

The Cable History Trail has information on the Waterville cable station in 2007

Research Material Needed

The Atlantic Cable website is non-commercial, and its mission is to make available on line as much information as possible.

You can help - if you have cable material, old or new, please contact me. Cable samples, instruments, documents, brochures, souvenir books, photographs, family stories, all are valuable to researchers and historians.

If you have any cable-related items that you could photograph, copy, scan, loan, or sell, please email me: billb@ftldesign.com