The Society for Nautical Research, based in London, England, announced publication of The Haddock Family of English Seafarers: Merchant Mariners and Naval Officers 1327–1941 in the February 2026 edition of its member newsletter. SNR is the world’s premier maritime history society. It produces leading print and digital publications and helps preserve and promote the maritime heritage of the United Kingdom.
The SNR member newsletter is available here: https://snr.org.uk/topmasts-news/edition-no-57-february-2026/. The society welcomes members of all ages, nationalities, and maritime interests. The online SNR Forum, where viewers can ask and answer questions on many maritime history subjects, can be accessed free of charge.
Judy Purcell, The Haddock Family of English Seafarers:
Merchant Mariners and Naval Officers 1327–1941
Coracle Group LLC, £53.99 Hardcover £38.04 Paperback
Details the Lives of Courageous Seamen and Their Voyages to Ports Around the Globe
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 a richly illustrated, full-color book, The Haddock Family of English Seafarers: Merchant Mariners and Naval Officers 1327–1941.
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 15th to the 20th centuries, 38 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 advisors to kings and queens.
Over a 300-year span (1641 to 1941), 24 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.
The Haddock Family of English Seafarers: Merchant Mariners and Naval Officers 1327–1941 includes complete and well documented biographies of the Haddock seafarers and their Holworthy and Thruston descendants. Their stories draw on an unusual combination of hundreds of personal, naval, historical, and genealogical records. 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 8 ½ x 11” full-color book includes 15 maps, 47 illustrations, a timeline, a detailed family chart, a glossary of maritime terms, an index, and an appendix listing nearly 20 wars and naval actions in which Haddock family members 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.