During the Second World War she supplied Irish agricultural products to Britain, and brought coal to Ireland.
James Postlethwaite was built by William Ashburner and Son at Barrow and was launched on 11 August 1881.
On 28 July 1914, the day Britain declared war on Germany, James Postlethwaite was in Hamburg.
Other Arklow ships were lost, such as Robert Tyrrell's Vindex which was abandoned by her crew as the Germans overran Antwerp.
The crews were imprisoned first in Hamburg and then transferred to Ruhleben internment camp on a racecourse at Spandau near Berlin.
[g] The City of Belfast had crew from Arklow and Rush,[9] under Captain George Tyndall.
The prison authorities banned Shaw's Arms and the Man,[10] declaring "militaristic plays will not be tolerated".[j].
A pupil from Dublin, of the City of Belfast obtained his extra-masters certificate and went on to beharbour master of Adelaide.
[l] There were efforts to arrange a prisoner exchange by Captain Donelan Chief Whip of the Irish Party, John T. Donovan and other MPs from the Home Rule Party[11] and Irish Peers, such as, Lord Charles Beresford,[m] with little success.
[12][n] On 10 October 1918, a month before the armistice, a large group of prisoners, including most of the Irish, were released.
Many of the prisoners were ill. Captain George Tyndall of the City of Belfast died ten days after his release.
She was initially towed to South Shields for refitting as new masts were required, then to Arklow and rerigged.
In April 1929 Captain William Hagan[p] purchased shares in James Postlethwaite and took command.
James Postlethwaite was relegated to the smaller ports, carrying less valuable cargoes such as kelp from Kilrush to Bowling.
[16] The Arklow schooners could no longer secure cargoes, they were tied up along the Avoca River, where they were left to decay.
In his Saint Patrick's Day address in 1940, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Éamon de Valera lamented: "No country had ever been more effectively blockaded because of the activities of belligerents and our lack of ships..." Éamon de Valera advocated self-sufficiency and discouraged International trade, saying: "It was an important status symbol in the modern world for a country to produce her own goods and be self-sufficient.
It was sailing ships, such as James Postlethwaite who had long past their retirement which ensured that Irish agricultural exports reached Britain, and that British coal arrived in Ireland.
[23] At the end of the war, the Dutch motor vessels returned, and sail could not economically compete.
James Postlethwaite made her last visit to Barrow in 1952 and soon after she was laid up at Arklow,[14] the schooner trade by then being virtually defunct.
The Arklow schooners James Postlethwaite and Harvest King starred in the film Moby Dick.
In 1954 James Postlethwaite was towed by MV George Emelie to Youghal,[14] where John Huston was filming "Moby Dick".
James Postlethwaite played the part of Devil-Dam, while Harvest King was Tit-Bit and Pequod was the schooner Ryelands.
[u] In November a gale smashed James Postlethwaite into the quay at Youghal, causing irreparable damage.