Henry Hugh Gordon Stoker
Encyclopedia
Commander
Henry Hugh Gordon "Dacre" Stoker, DSO
RN
commonly credited in films as H.G. Stoker or Dacre Stoker (2 February 1885, Dublin - 2 February 1966, London), was an officer of the First and Second World War Royal Navy
and stage and screen actor. He was also a sportsman, active in polo
, croquet
, hurling
, and tennis
, competing at Wimbledon
and becoming the croquet champion of Ireland in 1962, aged 77. He was a cousin to the author Bram Stoker
.
. By 1904 he had been promoted to acting sub-lieutenant, and began studying at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich
. He volunteered for the Royal Navy Submarine Service
. Aged 23 he was promoted to lieutenant, and his first submarine command. Later he was given responsibility to establish a submarine station on Gibraltar
.
He served in World War I
as captain of the Australian Submarine AE2
, which in 1915 was the first submarine to penetrate the mined narrows of the Dardanelles
and thus to enter the Sea of Marmara
. After a series of naval engagements there, AE2 was attacked by the Ottoman torpedo boat Sultanhisar
. She was scuttled and her crew captured, with Stoker using his acting talents to entertain fellow prisoners and to attempt to escape, unsuccessfully. Leaving the navy in 1921 to act, he was recalled to active service at the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1945 he again left the navy to act.
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Henry Hugh Gordon "Dacre" Stoker, DSO
Distinguished Service Order
The Distinguished Service Order is a military decoration of the United Kingdom, and formerly of other parts of the British Commonwealth and Empire, awarded for meritorious or distinguished service by officers of the armed forces during wartime, typically in actual combat.Instituted on 6 September...
RN
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
commonly credited in films as H.G. Stoker or Dacre Stoker (2 February 1885, Dublin - 2 February 1966, London), was an officer of the First and Second World War Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
and stage and screen actor. He was also a sportsman, active in polo
Polo
Polo is a team sport played on horseback in which the objective is to score goals against an opposing team. Sometimes called, "The Sport of Kings", it was highly popularized by the British. Players score by driving a small white plastic or wooden ball into the opposing team's goal using a...
, croquet
Croquet
Croquet is a lawn game, played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport. It involves hitting plastic or wooden balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing court.-History:...
, hurling
Hurling
Hurling is an outdoor team game of ancient Gaelic origin, administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association, and played with sticks called hurleys and a ball called a sliotar. Hurling is the national game of Ireland. The game has prehistoric origins, has been played for at least 3,000 years, and...
, and tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, competing at Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, or simply Wimbledon , is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, considered by many to be the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the other three Majors...
and becoming the croquet champion of Ireland in 1962, aged 77. He was a cousin to the author Bram Stoker
Bram Stoker
Abraham "Bram" Stoker was an Irish novelist and short story writer, best known today for his 1897 Gothic novel Dracula...
.
Life
Stoker's naval career began in 1900 with training aboard HMS BritanniaHMS Prince of Wales (1860)
HMS Prince of Wales was one of six 121-gun screw-propelled first-rate three-decker line-of-battle ships of the Royal Navy. She was launched on 25 January 1860...
. By 1904 he had been promoted to acting sub-lieutenant, and began studying at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich
Old Royal Naval College
The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation as being of “outstanding universal value” and reckoned to be the “finest and most...
. He volunteered for the Royal Navy Submarine Service
Royal Navy Submarine Service
The Royal Navy Submarine Service is the submarine element of the Royal Navy. It is sometimes known as the "Silent Service", on account of a submarine being required to operate quietly in order to remain undetected by enemy sonar...
. Aged 23 he was promoted to lieutenant, and his first submarine command. Later he was given responsibility to establish a submarine station on Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
.
He served in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
as captain of the Australian Submarine AE2
HMAS AE2
HMAS AE2 was an E class submarine of the Royal Australian Navy . She was commissioned into the RAN at Portsmouth on 28 February 1914 and was scuttled little more than a year later in the Sea of Marmara after being hit by enemy shellfire during the Battle of Gallipoli.-Construction and...
, which in 1915 was the first submarine to penetrate the mined narrows of the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
and thus to enter the Sea of Marmara
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...
. After a series of naval engagements there, AE2 was attacked by the Ottoman torpedo boat Sultanhisar
Ottoman torpedo boat Sultanhisar
Sultanhisar was a torpedo boat of the Ottoman Navy. She was built in 1907 by Schneider & Cie in Chalon-sur-Saône, France, and transferred the same year to Turkey...
. She was scuttled and her crew captured, with Stoker using his acting talents to entertain fellow prisoners and to attempt to escape, unsuccessfully. Leaving the navy in 1921 to act, he was recalled to active service at the outbreak of the Second World War. In 1945 he again left the navy to act.
Partial filmography
- Channel CrossingChannel CrossingChannel Crossing is a 1933 British crime film and starring Milton Rosmer and starring Matheson Lang, Constance Cummings, Anthony Bushell and Nigel Bruce.-Cast:* Matheson Lang - Jacob Van Eeden* Constance Cummings - Marion Slade...
(1933) - One Precious Year (1933, Sir John Rome)
- The Man Who Knew Too MuchThe Man Who Knew Too Much (1934 film)The Man Who Knew Too Much is a British suspense film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, featuring Peter Lorre, and released by Gaumont British. It was one of the most successful and critically acclaimed films of Hitchcock's British period....
(1934, uncredited, Police Chief At Siege) - Brown on ResolutionBrown on Resolution (film)Brown on Resolution is a 1935 film adaptation of the CS Forester novel Brown on Resolution. The plot is centred on the illegitimate son of a British naval officer singlehandedly bringing about the downfall of a German battleship during World War I...
(1936, Captain Holt) - The First OffenceThe First OffenceThe First Offence is a 1936 British drama film directed by Herbert Mason and starring John Mills, Lilli Palmer and Bernard Nedell. It was a remake of the 1934 French film Mauvaise Graine directed by Billy Wilder.-Cast:* John Mills - Johnnie Penrose...
(1936) - Non-Stop New YorkNon-Stop New YorkNon-Stop New York is a 1937 crime film based on the novel Sky Steward by Ken Attiwill. A woman who can clear an innocent man of the charge of murder is pursued by gangsters onto a luxurious transatlantic flying boat.-Cast:...
(1937, Captain) - Brighton Rock (1947, uncredited, Registrar)
- Star in the Summer Night an episode from Armchair TheatreArmchair TheatreArmchair Theatre is a British television drama anthology series, which ran on the ITV network from 1956 to 1974. It was originally produced by Associated British Corporation, and later by Thames Television after 1968....
(1959, Martin McDonald)
External links
- H.G. Stoker at allmovie