Chaps, not familiar with Herc/VC10 technical stuff but just about all modern airliners are configured for the captain to sit in the left seat only.
Configured, in this case meaning, in the event of system failure as much stuff as possible will continue to function on the left side.
With an electrical failure for example, the aircraft can only be flown from the left side. You will find standby instruments are always on the left side. Bias is incorporated into the left side, for example the left side ptt switch pretty much always overides the right.
When serious non normal situations occur the company will expect the captain to be able to take over if required. My previous aircraft was very electrical and many inputs from the left were designed to override the right side. Trim switches is yet another example.
In the airline world the captain always sits in the left seat, period.
It may also stem from airlaw and the right hand traffic rule etc