Coming in Late 2025
New biographies of the men in one of Britain’s most distinguished seafaring families.
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. Political and religious radicals during the English Civil Wars, they served as respected officers and advisors to kings and queens after the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy.
Over a 300-year span (1641 to 1941), 24 family members served in the navy. They included four admirals, nine captains or commanders, and two lieutenants, with many additional officers in the extended family.
Danger at Sea
Adventurous and courageous, the Haddocks survived capture by Algerian pirates; enemy fire during wars with the Dutch, French, and Spanish; arduous trading voyages to China and India; flawed leadership by London administrators; accidents at sea; and shipwreck.
Their voyages took them to distant ports—from present-day Panama to the eastern coast of Australia, and from the northern coast of Russia to the tip of South Africa—often without the ability to determine longitude accurately.
Key Figures in Maritime Communities
Linked by marriage and business ties with other seafaring families, they were key members of the close-knit maritime communities in Leigh and London. Here for the first time are the complete and meticulously documented biographies of the Haddock seafarers and their Holworthy and Thruston relatives. Their stories draw on hundreds of personal, naval, historical, and genealogical records; correct previously published accounts; and name some notable descendants.
The 8 ½ x 11” book features 15 maps, 47 illustrations, a timeline, a glossary of maritime terms, a family chart, and a list of nearly 20 wars and naval actions in which Haddock family members served their country. This 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. Full color, 310 pages. Available online and wherever books are sold.
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. Political and religious radicals during the English Civil Wars, they served as respected officers and advisors to kings and queens after the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy.
Over a 300-year span (1641 to 1941), 24 family members served in the navy. They included four admirals, nine captains or commanders, and two lieutenants, with many additional officers in the extended family.
Danger at Sea
Adventurous and courageous, the Haddocks survived capture by Algerian pirates; enemy fire during wars with the Dutch, French, and Spanish; arduous trading voyages to China and India; flawed leadership by London administrators; accidents at sea; and shipwreck.
Their voyages took them to distant ports—from present-day Panama to the eastern coast of Australia, and from the
northern coast of Russia to the tip of South Africa—often without the ability to determine longitude accurately.
Key Figures in Maritime Communities
Linked by marriage and business ties with other seafaring families, they were key members of the close-knit maritime communities in Leigh and London. Here for the first time are the complete and meticulously documented biographies of the Haddock seafarers and their Holworthy and Thruston relatives. Their stories draw on hundreds of personal, naval, historical, and genealogical records; correct previously published accounts; and name some notable descendants.
The 8 ½ x 11” book features 15 maps, 47 illustrations, a timeline, a glossary of maritime terms, a family chart, and a list of nearly 20 wars and naval actions in which Haddock family members served their country. This 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. Full color, 310 pages. Ordering information available soon.
REVIEWS
A tour de force. Judy Purcell brilliantly brings to life a remarkable dynasty of seafarers and naval officers at the heart of British maritime history for four centuries, setting their stories in the political, naval, and commercial contexts of their time. Deeply researched and richly illustrated, this is family history at its very best.
– Bernard Capp, Emeritus Professor of History, University of Warwick, and author, Cromwell’s Navy and British Slaves and Barbary Corsairs
I am impressed, especially by the accomplished way in which you’ve mastered the intricacies of British naval history in several different time periods and even some of the more obscure byways of English and Welsh law! Terrific mastery of the sources, too.
– J.D. Davies, Chair, The Society for Nautical Research and prize-winning author, Kings of the Sea: Charles II, James II and the Royal Navy and other books
[This is] a remarkable book considered just as a genealogy, but it incorporates a whole scholarly library of related studies which taken together compose a rich and eloquent story spread over a remarkably long and diverse period. I have very much enjoyed reading it, and I am sure many other people … will be equally impressed.
– N.A.M. Rodger, Emeritus Fellow, All Souls College, Oxford, and prize-winning author of The Price of Victory, The Command of the Ocean, and other books
This is an excellent, incredibly detailed, and well researched account of the Haddock dynasty over several centuries of its seagoing involvements. It goes much further back in time than I would have imagined possible.
– Rif Winfield, author, British Warships in the Age of Sail, 4 vols.
Purcell’s book is a ‘deep dive’ into one of Britain’s most enduring seafaring families. With the exception of WWI, a Haddock has served in many of England’s, and later Britain’s, most consequential naval clashes. Those Haddocks who opted to sail in the merchant marine helped build Britain’s commercial empire. One would be hard-pressed to find a family more woven into Britain’s maritime history than the Haddocks. Purcell has done an impressive job of bringing their story to light.
– Cheryl Fury, Professor of History and Politics, University of New Brunswick (Saint John), and author, The Social History of English Seamen, 2 vols.
This closely researched and well-written study follows a very memorable family across six hundred years of sea-going history, at the same time showing the linkages between genealogy, social history, and Great Britain’s rise as a global maritime power.
– Margaret R. Hunt, Professor Emerita of History, Uppsala University, Sweden, and co-author, The English East India Company at the Height of Mughal Expansion: A Soldier’s Diary of the 1689 Siege of Bombay
This is a fascinating and well researched history of the Haddock family.
– Elaine Murphy, Associate Professor of Maritime and Naval History, University of Plymouth, and co-author, The British Civil Wars at Sea, 1638–53