Captain Haddock home, Marlinspike Hall (or "Moulinsart" in the original French). Harry Thompson, author of "Tintin: Hergé and his creation", writes that the introduction of this large and luxurious country house was "to provide a suitable ancestral home for Tintin and himself to move into." To achieve this in terms of the plot, Hergé also details Haddock's ancestry, something Thompson regards as distinctive: "Haddock is the only regular character whose relatives turn up in the Tintin stories at all (if one discounts Jolyon Wagg and his dreadful family)." As Haddock's role grew, Hergé expanded his character, basing him upon aspects of friends,
Herbert Haddock was born to Herbert James Haddock (born 1825) in Rugby, Warwickshire on 27 January 1861. Before working for the White Star Line, Haddock was a lieutenant with the Royal Navy aboard HMS "Edinburgh". In 1902, Haddock was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath. He was later "aide de camp" to British royalty. His White Star Line career included commanding a number of liners, including the RMS "Britannic", SS "Germanic", RMS "Cedric", and RMS "Oceanic". Haddock was also nominally the first commander of RMS "Titanic". He signed on as her master at Southampton on 25 March 1912, and