The Haddock Family of English Seafarers: Merchant Mariners and Naval Officers 1327–1941
Adventurous members of an English family survived shipwreck, capture by pirates in the Mediterranean Sea, enemy fire during numerous naval battles, and arduous trading voyages to India and China. Now, for the first time, the stories of their careers and family lives have been collected in this richly illustrated, full-colour book.
From their origin in 1327 as farmers in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, the Haddocks rose to become commanders and owners of merchant ships and officers in the English (later British) navy. From the fifteenth to the twentieth centuries, thirty-eight men in the extended family were seafarers.
The Haddocks were political and religious radicals during the English Civil Wars. After the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy, they served as respected officers in the Royal Navy and advisers to kings and queens. Over a 300-year span (1641–1941), twenty-four family members served in the navy, including four admirals, nine captains or commanders, and two lieutenants. One naval captain later became a commander of ships for the English East India Company.
The Haddocks voyaged to distant ports around the globe—from present-day Panama to the eastern coast of Australia, and from the northern coast of Russia to the tip of South Africa—often before technology was available to determine longitude accurately. This remarkable family includes Admiral of the Blue Nicholas Haddock (1685–1746), who at one time owned Wrotham Place in Kent, a house built about 1452.
The 8½ × 11 inch full-colour book includes 15 maps, 47 illustrations, a timeline, a detailed family chart, a glossary of maritime terms, an index, and an appendix listing nearly twenty wars and naval actions in which members of the Haddock family served their country. This 328-page history is a valuable reference for maritime and naval historians, enthusiasts, descendants, and anyone interested in the Age of Sail, the Royal Navy, World War II, or ships and the sea.
The book was written by Judy S. Purcell, a former award-winning journalist who became interested in maritime history and spent nine years researching the Haddock seafarers.
The book is published by Coracle Group LLC and is available in hardcover and paperback.
For further details, see:
www.coraclegroup.com