Henry Hugh Gordon Stoker
| Henry Stoker | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1 February 1885 Dublin, Ireland |
| Died |
2 February 1966 (aged 81) London, England |
| Allegiance | United Kingdom |
| Service/branch | Royal Navy |
| Years of service |
1900–20 1939–45 |
| Rank | Commander |
| Commands held |
HMS Minos (c. 1940–42) HMS K9 (1919–20) HMAS AE2 (1914–15) HMS B8 (1911–13) HMS B5 (1910–11) HMS A10 (1909–10) |
| Battles/wars |
First World War Second World War |
| Awards |
Distinguished Service Order Mentioned in Despatches |
| Relations | Bram Stoker (cousin) |
| Other work |
Actor Theatre director |
Commander Henry Hugh Gordon Dacre Stoker, DSO (2 February 1885 – 2 February 1966), commonly credited in films as H.G. Stoker or Dacre Stoker, was a Royal Navy officer of the First and Second World Wars, and a 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.
Life
Stoker's naval career began in 1900 with training aboard HMS Britannia. 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 the First World War 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. The submarine was scuttled and the crew captured, with Stoker using his acting talents to entertain fellow prisoners and to attempt to escape, unsuccessfully. Leaving the navy in 1920 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 Crossing (1933)
- One Precious Year (1933, Sir John Rome)
- The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934, uncredited, Police Chief At Siege)
- Koenigsmark (1935)
- Brown on Resolution (1936, Captain Holt)
- The First Offence (1936)
- It's You I Want (1936)
- Non-Stop New York (1937, Captain)
- Crackerjack (1938)
- Brighton Rock (1947, uncredited, Registrar)
- Call of the Blood (1949)
- Star in the Summer Night an episode from Armchair Theatre (1959, Martin McDonald)
External links
- H.G. Stoker at allmovie
- H.G. Stoker at the Internet Movie Database
- Copping, Jasper (26 February 2008). "Henry Stoker: sailor, sportsman, actor, hero". The Telegraph. Retrieved 2008-03-26.