Captain Herbert James Haddock | |
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| Born | (1861-01-27)27 January 1861 Rugby,Warwickshire, England |
| Died | 4 October 1946(1946-10-04) (aged 85) Southampton,Hampshire, England |
| Occupation | Shipcaptain |
| Known for | Captain ofRMSOlympic at the time of thesinking of theTitanic |
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| Parent | Herbert Haddock |
Herbert James HaddockCB[1] (27 January 1861 – 4 October 1946[1]) was a British[2]naval reserve officer[3] and ship's captain, and was best known as the captain of theRMSOlympic at the time of thesinking of theTitanic.[4] He was the first person to captainTitanic, overseeing the ship at Belfast while her delivery-trip crew was assembling there from 25 to 31 March 1912.[5][6]
Haddock was born to Herbert James Haddock (born 1825) inRugby, Warwickshire on 27 January 1861.[7][8] He joined theRoyal Navy, serving as alieutenant aboardHMSEdinburgh.[9] In 1902, Haddock was appointed aCompanion of the Order of the Bath. He was lateraide de camp toKing George V.[1]
After his Royal naval service, Haddock joined theWhite Star Line, where he captained a number of liners including theRMSBritannic,SSGermanic,RMSCedric, andRMSOceanic.[1]
Haddock was also nominally the first commander ofRMSTitanic. He signed on as her master at Southampton on 25 March 1912, and then travelled to Belfast to oversee the crew that was assembling there for the ship's delivery trip to Southampton. He was relieved byEdward J. Smith at Belfast on 31 March and then returned to Southampton to take command of Smith's previous ship,RMSOlympic.[10] On 3 April he beganOlympic's tenth Southampton-New York-Southampton roundtrip, arriving in New York on 10 April, the dayTitanic left Southampton.Olympic was given the radiocall signMKC.[11]
At the time ofTitanic's sinking Haddock was sailingOlympic easterly from New York to Southampton, approximately 500 nautical miles (930 km; 580 mi)west by south ofTitanic's location.[12] Haddock was informed of the disaster bywireless operator Ernest James Moore[13] at 2250ET on 14 April. After receiving aCQD call fromTitanic, Haddock calculated a new course and headed directly to her. He also sent for an engineer to set the ship's engines to full power.[12] When 100 nautical miles (190 km; 120 mi) fromTitanic, at approximately 1600 ET on 15 April, Haddock received a message fromCaptain Rostron ofRMSCarpathia, explaining that continuing on course toTitanic would gain nothing, as "All boats accounted for. About 675 souls saved [...] Titanic foundered about 2.20 am."[1][12] Rostron requested that the message be forwarded to White Star andCunard. He said that he was returning to harbour in New York, and recommended that other ships do the same.[12] Subsequently, the wireless room aboard theOlympic operated as aclearing room for radio messages.[12]
In theUnited States Senate inquiry into the sinking of theTitanic, Haddock was interviewed byWilliam Alden Smith on 25 May 1912. Haddock gave his residence as Southampton, and his employment as a "Master Mariner".[12] Seven weeks after theTitanic disaster, Haddock, steaming at night, almost ran theOlympic aground on rocks nearLand's End. Fortunately lookouts spotted waves breaking at the base of the rocks in time and another disaster was averted. The error was attributed to faulty navigation, and Haddock was under strict observation for his next few voyages.[5] On 9 October 1912 White Star withdrewOlympic from service and returned her to her builders at Belfast to have modifications added to incorporate lessons learned from theTitanic disaster six months prior, and improve safety. This refit lasted until mid 1913 and whileOlympic was laid up Haddock commanded other White Star ships.
With the start of theFirst World War, in October 1914, Haddock was back in command ofOlympic during her attempt to assist the battleshipHMSAudacious after she had collided with a Germanmine off the western coast of Scotland.[5]Olympic was subsequentlylaid up until being converted to atroopship at the outbreak ofWorld War I.[5] Haddock was redeployed to command a dummy fleet of wooden dreadnoughts and battle cruisers, and was stationed in Belfast.[5] In 1915,Harold Sanderson, head ofInternational Mercantile Marine, tried to reassign Haddock to captainBritannic when she was converted to ahospital ship. However, theAdmiralty refused to release Haddock from his assignment in Belfast and by 1916 Haddock had resigned from the White Star Line.[5][14] From 5 to 14 May 1917, Haddock sailed fromLiverpool to New York City as a passenger aboard theSSSaint Paul,[2] six months before she was taken over for wartime service. The voyage's manifest shows that Haddock's trip was funded by the Admiralty,[15] and states that his final destination wasNewport News, Virginia, where he would be received by the British Navy.[15] According to the 1917 ship's manifest, Haddock had not been back to the United States since 1914. Later that year he made a second trip to the United States arriving in New York on 31 August 1917 as a passenger aboard the White Star linerRMSAdriatic with his occupation listed on the manifest as "naval officer" and a final destination ofNorfolk, Virginia. His passage on this trip was paid for by his former employer, the White Star Line. The purpose of these two trips is unknown.[15]
After the armistice that ended World War I, Haddock continued to serve as Royal Naval Reserve aide-de-camp to King George V until he was succeeded in that role by White Star commanderCharles A. Bartlett on 16 July 1919. On 8 December 1919, Capt. Herbert J. Haddock was placed on the Royal Naval Reserve's retired list. It is not thought that Haddock who would have reached the age of 60, the mandatory retirement age for White Star officers, in 1921 returned to the White Star Line after the war.[5][16]
Haddock married Mabel Eliza Bouchette, inRock Ferry,Merseyside on 13 May 1893.[7] Bouchette was born inLiverpool inc. 1872 and lived with her father, Francis, at 91 Townsend Lane,West Derby, Liverpool.[17] Other sources state that Bouchette was fromQuebec.[1]Haddock and Bouchette had four children – Geoffrey (10 January 1895 – 17 September 1916), Ruth (1896 – 26 October 1958), andtwins[7] Herbert (21 October 1903 – 1988) and Joan (21 October 1903 – 21 November 1920).[7] Geoffrey was a Lieutenant in theVictoria Rifles of Canada. He waskilled in action on 27 September 1916 at the age of 21, and was commemorated on theCanadian National Vimy Memorial.[18] In the 28 May 1935 edition of theLondon Gazette, Ruth was described as aspinster.[19]UK censuses andcivil registers show that the family lived in Rock Ferry until at least 1904.[20] They later moved to Southampton, living in the suburb ofBitterne.[2][18][19] Bouchette died on 11 March 1935.[1][7]
A 1911 story inThe New York Times described Haddock as the "only skipper in the Atlantic trade who wears the mid-Victorianmutton chop whiskers without a beard or mustache".[21]
Haddock died in Southampton on 4 October 1946 at the age of 85.[7]
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