Captain Haddock since creating Tintin." Sales of the volume in which Haddock was introduced indicated the character was well received. After a fairly serious role in "The Shooting Star", where he has risen to become the President of the Society of Sober Sailors (replete with a cabin full of rum), Haddock takes a more central role in the next adventure, split over two books, "The Secret of the Unicorn" and "Red Rackham's Treasure"— indeed, his family history drives the plot. Upon locating the treasure, the newly wealthy Haddock retires. Hergé built the next adventure around Haddock, furnishing the character with an ancestral
Herbert Haddock was under strict observation for his next few voyages. Haddock was in command of "Olympic" in 1914 during her attempt to assist HMS "Audacious" after she had collided with a German mine. "Olympic" was subsequently laid up until being converted to a troopship at the outbreak of World War I. Haddock was redeployed to command a dummy fleet of wooden dreadnoughts and battle cruisers, and was stationed in Belfast. In 1915, Harold Sanderson, head of International Mercantile Marine, tried to reassign Haddock to captain "Britannic" when she was converted to a hospital ship. However, the Admiralty refused to release Haddock