Good Morning, I collect ocean liner ephemera and I have a few items with a Warwickshire interest which you may not be aware of or even interested about but I thought I would share with you anyway.
Captain Herbert James Haddock
Captain Herbert James Haddock was born and raised in Rugby. He went on to be a captain with the famous White Star Line, and was in fact the the first captain of the Titanic, whilst she was still at the shipyard just before her sea trials. He commanded her older sister ship Olympic and was still in command at the outbreak of World War One. He played an active role in trying to tow the brand new battleship Audacious, which had struck a mine off Ireland. For his efforts, he was put in command of the dummy battleship squadron in Belfast.
He never returned as a liner captain, and his career post-war is a bit of a mystery, but is believed he remained in Admiralty employ. He was an outstanding seaman, but is relatively little known as he was notoriously publicity shy. However it is known he was popular amongst passengers and crew, who nicknamed him Pappy He was a Commander in the Royal Naval Reserve, Commander of the Bath and served as an Aide De Camp. He was the youngest captain within the White Star line which tells you all about his abilities.
Items of interest
The items I own are:
- A passenger list from the Oceanic, a one off ship widely considered to be one of the most beautiful to sail and a jewel within the fleet;
- A passenger list from the Cedric, which as the largest ship in the world Haddock took on her maiden voyage;
- And abstract of log cards which were printed onboard ship and given as souvenirs at the end of the voyage.
Thank you for reading
Comments
Do you have the address Captain Herbert Haddock lived at in Rugby?
Hi Harriet, the census should have those details I’d think. They’re available on ancestry and findmypast, and local libraries and the record office have a free subscription to them for you to view.
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