In the (17!) years since we last discussed Capt. Haddock, I've added some new items to my notes concerning the years after he left Olympic in October 1914. Some of what follows is discussed above, some not.
31 October 1914: Lord Fisher becomes First Sea Lord and "at once" contacts Olympic's commander Herbert Haddock, makes him a Commodore and appoints him to command "the finest fleet of dummy wooden 'Dreadnoughts' and Battle Cruisers the world had ever looked on." In his memoirs, published in 1919, Fisher will write of Haddock that "if ever there was a Nelson of the Merchant Service he was," and that if Fisher had remained First Sea Lord "he would have been Sir Herbert Haddock, K.C.B., or I'd have died in the attempt." (Source: Fisher's Memories.)
19 December 1914: When Baltic II (Capt. J. B. Ranson) arrives in New York, an unnamed passenger tells The New York Times that Olympic's former commander, Herbert J. Haddock, is overseeing the creation of a fleet of dummy warships at Belfast. He further reports that this supposedly secret fleet is made up of requisitioned and purchased merchant ships, including White Star's Cevic, which are being loaded with concrete to make them lie lower in the water and then fitted with wooden guns and turrets to resemble war ships. The passenger claims to have asked Haddock about the dummy ships, only to have him respond "Hush! It is a secret." (Source: The New York Times, 20 December 1914.)
20 March 1915: When Lapland arrives at New York, reporters are told (by whom is not clear) that the fleet of dummy warships built under the supervision of White Star Capt. Herbert J. Haddock has sailed from Belfast on a secret mission. It is unknown whether Haddock sailed with the fleet and, except that he is not in Liverpool, "nothing is known in shipping circles there about his movements." In addition, passengers report that after leaving Liverpool Lapland was chased by a submarine in the Irish Sea; Capt. Bradshaw denies that the ship was chased, but does report observing a British destroyer apparently engaged in a gunfight with a U-boat. (Source: The New York Times, 21 March 1915; New-York Tribune, 21 March 1915.)
2 September 1915: White Star is notified by the British government that Olympic, laid up since last November, is being requisitioned for use as a troopship. Because the Admiralty will not release Herbert Haddock, Olympic's peace-time captain and White Star's first choice for command, from his duties at Belfast as head of a fleet of dummy war ships, Bertram F. Hayes will be appointed as Olympic's commander and will serve in that capacity throughout the war and after. (Sources: Chirnside's RMS Olympic: Titanic's Sister; Hayes' Hull Down.)
3 October 1915: The New York Times reports on White Star Capt. Herbert Haddock's service as commander of a "dummy fleet" of merchant ships (Cevic among them) masquerading as warships. The ships are made to resemble battleships and cruisers "by means of wood, paint and putty," the Times reports, and are then dispatched to decoy German warships and deter U-boat activity. British Admiral John Jellicoe is said not to have recognized the fleet as "dummies" when he encountered it last November and the sinking of the German cruiser Blücher in January is attributed to the activity of Haddock's command. (Source: The New York Times, 3 October 1915.)
18 December 1915: Information reaches New York "from reliable sources in London" that the fleet of dummy warships created by Harland and Wolff and commanded by White Star's Capt. Herbert Haddock has been disbanded. (See tomorrow, 20 March and 3 June.) The thirteen surviving ships of that fleet (including Cevic, which will soon be owned by the Admiralty, see 19 January) have had their fake guns, turrets and funnels removed at Glasgow or Belfast and been reassigned to other duties. (Sources: The New York Times, 19 December 1915; de Kerbrech's Ships of the White Star Line.)
2 February 1916: White Star commander Herbert J, Haddock, 55, resigns from the company's service. Olympic's prewar captain, Haddock has been on Royal Navy service since November 1914, until recently, see 18 December, as commander of a fleet of dummy warships. (Source: Haddock's White Star officer record.)
17 July 1916: In recognition of his 1914-1915 service with the Admiralty's dummy battleship fleet, White Star Capt. Herbert J. Haddock is appointed as the first Royal Naval Reserve Aide-de-Camp to the King, a position he will hold for three years; see yesterday. (Sources: The London Gazette, Issue 29675, 19 July 1916; The Times (London), 22 July 1916 and 29 June 1921.)
14 May 1917: Former White Star commander Herbert Haddock arrives at New York on the American Line's St. Paul, on his way to Newport News. The ship's passenger manifest states that his occupation is "Mariner" and that his passage was paid for by the Admiralty, but otherwise I have no information about the reason for his trip, the first of two he will make to the United States this year; see 31 August for the other. (Source: Ellis Island ship manifest; Haddock's White Star officer record.)
31 August 1917: Former White Star commander Herbert Haddock arrives at New York on Adriatic II (Capt. Ranson), on his way to Norfolk, Virginia. The ship's passenger manifest states that his occupation is "Naval Officer" and that his passage was paid for by White Star, but otherwise I have no information about the reason for his trip, the second of two he has made to the United States this year; see 14 May for the other. (Source: Ellis Island ship manifest; Haddock's White Star officer record.)
16 July 1919: White Star commanders Charles A. Bartlett, C.B., R.D., R.N.R., and Bertram F. Hayes, C.M.G., D.S.O., R.D., R.N.R, become Aides-de-Camp to King George V. Bartlett succeeds White Star Capt. Herbert J. Haddock, C.B., R.D., A.-d.-C., R.N.R., who has held the position since it was first created in 1916, while Hayes fills a newly created position. (Sources: The London Gazette, Issue 31501, 12 August 1919; Hayes' Hull Down (which does not mention Bartlett or Haddock); The Times (London), 29 June 1921.)
8 December 1919: Capt. Herbert J. Haddock, C.B., R.D., is placed on the Royal Naval Reserve's retired list. (Source: The London Gazette, Issue 31705, 23 December 1919.)
4 October 1946: Retired White Star Captain Herbert J. Haddock dies at Southampton at the age of 85. (Source: The Times (London), 7 and 8 October 1946; Who was Who, 1941-1950.)
