Herbert Haddock

Captain Herbert James Haddock (27 January 1861 – 4 October 1946) was a British merchant sea captain and naval officer. He is best known as the captain of the at the time of the sinking of the Titanic as well as being the first captain of the Titanic, overseeing the ship at Belfast while her delivery-trip crew was assembling there from 25 to 31 March 1912.

Early life Haddock was born to Herbert James Haddock (born 1825) in Rugby, Warwickshire on 27 January 1861. He joined the Royal Navy, serving as a lieutenant aboard HMS Edinburgh. In 1902, Haddock was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath. He was later the Royal Naval Reserve aide de camp to King George V. On 3 April he began Olympics tenth Southampton-New York-Southampton roundtrip, arriving in New York on 10 April, the day Titanic left Southampton. Olympic was given the radio call sign MKC.

At the time of Titanics sinking Haddock was sailing Olympic easterly from New York to Southampton, approximately west by south of Titanics location. Haddock was informed of the disaster by wireless operator Ernest James Moore at 2250 ET on 14 April. After receiving a CQD call from Titanic, 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.

In the United States Senate inquiry into the sinking of the Titanic, Haddock was interviewed by William Alden Smith on 25 May 1912. Haddock gave his residence as Southampton, and his employment as a "Master Mariner". From 5 to 14 May 1917, Haddock sailed from Liverpool to New York City as a passenger aboard the SS Saint Paul,

Post War

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 commander Charles 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.

Personal life Haddock married Mabel Eliza Bouchette, in Rock Ferry, Lancashire, on 13 May 1893. Other sources state that Bouchette was from Quebec. In the 28 May 1935 edition of the London Gazette, Ruth was described as a spinster. UK censuses and civil registers show that the family lived in Rock Ferry until at least 1904. They later moved to Southampton, living in the suburb of Bitterne.

Haddock died in Southampton on 4 October 1946 at the age of 85.