George Callaghan
Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox military person Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Astley Callaghan Template:Postnominals (21 December 1852 – 23 November 1920) was an officer in the Royal Navy. During the Boxer Rebellion he served as commander of a naval brigade sent ashore to form an element of a larger expedition under Lieutenant-General Sir Alfred Gaselee: the expedition entered Peking and rescued the legations which had been held hostage there. He came to prominence again when, as Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet, he assisted with the provision of aid to survivors of the Messina earthquake, which had caused the loss of approximately 123,000 lives.
Callaghan became Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet in November 1911 and was advised in December 1913 that his tenure would be extended for another twelve months. With increasing international tension he started preparing his fleet for war. At the outbreak of the First World War in July 1914, Callaghan set sail in his flagship for his war station at Scapa Flow. There he met his successor-designate Sir John Jellicoe who had received orders from First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill to relieve the ageing Callaghan of command of his fleet. Callaghan was bitterly disappointed not to command his fleet in the war he had completely readied it for. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief, The Nore.
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Early careerEdit
Born the grandson of Daniel Callaghan MP, and the son of Captain Frederic Marcus Callaghan (an Irish landowner)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and Georgina Frances Callaghan (née Hodgson), Callaghan joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in the training ship Template:HMS in January 1866.<ref name=odnb>Template:Cite ODNB</ref> Promoted to midshipman on 15 October 1867, he joined the screw frigate Template:HMS at Liverpool later that month.<ref name=heath38>Heathcote, p. 38</ref> He then transferred to the corvette Template:HMS on the East Indies Station in October 1870.<ref name=heath38/> Promoted to sub-lieutenant on 15 April 1872 and to lieutenant on 15 April 1875,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> he joined the corvette Template:HMS on the East Indies Station in June 1877.<ref name=heath38/> In this post he was awarded a commendation by the Admiralty for saving the lives of sailors after a boat capsized in the Irrawaddy River.<ref name=heath38/>
He attended the gunnery school Template:HMS in 1880 and then joined the staff there in 1882.<ref name=heath38/> He returned to HMS Ruby on the South East Coast of America Station in 1885 and, having been promoted to commander on 31 December 1887,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> he became executive officer in the battleship Template:HMS, flagship of the North America and West Indies Station in 1888.<ref name=heath38/> He went on to be commanding officer of the despatch vessel Template:HMS, yacht of the Commander-in-Chief, China Station in 1892.<ref name=heath38/> Promoted to captain on 1 January 1894,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> he became naval advisor to the Inspector-General of Fortifications at the War Office later that year.<ref name=heath38/> He went on to be commanding officer of the cruiser Template:HMS in the Channel Fleet in 1897 and commanding officer of the cruiser Template:HMS on the China Station in 1899.<ref name=heath38/>
Boxer rebellionEdit
In April 1900, Callaghan became commander of a naval brigade sent ashore to form an element of a larger expedition under Lieutenant-General Sir Alfred Gaselee as part of the British response to the Boxer Rebellion. The expedition entered Peking and successfully rescued the legations which had been held hostage there.<ref name=heath38/> Callaghan was mentioned in dispatches and appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 9 November 1900.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
Higher rankEdit
Callaghan became commanding officer of the cruiser Template:HMS and commanded her in manoeuvres in Summer 1901 before becoming commanding officer of the battleship Template:HMS on the Mediterranean Station in December 1901.<ref name=heath38/> He went on to be Captain of Portsmouth Dockyard early in 1904 and commanding officer of the battleship Template:HMS on the Mediterranean Station shortly thereafter.<ref name=heath39>Heathcote, p. 39</ref> He was appointed naval aide-de-camp to the King on 25 April 1904.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> Promoted to rear-admiral on 1 July 1905,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> he became Second-in-Command, Channel Fleet, with his flag in the battleship Template:HMS, in 1906 and commander of the 5th Cruiser Squadron, with his flag in the armoured cruiser Template:HMS, in 1907.<ref name=heath39/> Appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order on 3 August 1907,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> he went on to be Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet with his flag in the battleship Template:HMS in 1908.<ref name=heath39/> In the latter role he assisted with the provision of aid to survivors of the Messina earthquake, which had caused the loss of circa 123,000 lives, in December 1908 for which he was advanced to Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order on 30 April 1909<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and appointed a Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy on 15 April 1912.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> Promoted to vice-admiral on 27 April 1910,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> he became Second-in-Command of the Home Fleet, with his flag in the battleship Template:HMS later that month.<ref name=heath39/> He was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 24 June 1910.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
Callaghan became Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet, with his flag in the battleship Template:HMS and with the acting rank of admiral in November 1911.<ref name=heath39/> Following an inspection of his fleet by King George V he was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order on 11 May 1912<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and, after a separate visit by the President Raymond Poincaré of France in 1913, he was also awarded the Grand Cordon of the French Legion of Honour.<ref>Walford, E., The county families of the United Kingdom vol. 59 (1919) page 59</ref> He was promoted to the substantive rank of full admiral on 17 May 1913<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and was advised in December 1913 that his tenure would be extended for another twelve months. With increasing international tension he started preparing his fleet for war.<ref name=heath39/>
The First World WarEdit
At the outbreak of the First World War in July 1914, Callaghan set sail in his flagship, the battleship Template:HMS, for his war station at Scapa Flow. There he met his successor-designate Sir John Jellicoe, who had received orders from First Lord of the Admiralty Winston Churchill to relieve the ageing Callaghan of command of his fleet. Jellicoe had resisted the order, believing it would cause tension in the fleet, but the order was confirmed by the Admiralty and Jellicoe was instructed to carry it out. Callaghan was bitterly disappointed not to command his fleet in the war he had completely readied it for.<ref name=heath39/>
In Autumn 1914 Callaghan took part in a Court of Inquiry into the conduct of Rear Admiral Ernest Troubridge for his failure to pursue the battlecruiser Template:SMS and the light cruiser Template:SMS. He referred the matter to a court-martial which ultimately found the case against Troubridge not proven.<ref name=heath39/>
Callaghan was appointed First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to the King on 11 September 1914<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and became Commander-in-Chief, The Nore in January 1915.<ref name=heath39/> He was advanced to Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath on 3 June 1916<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> and was promoted to Admiral of the Fleet on 2 April 1917.<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref>
Callaghan retired in March 1918 and became King of Arms of the Order of the Bath in May 1919.<ref name=heath39/> He died at 11 Cadogan Court, Chelsea, London on 23 November 1920 and was given a funeral at Westminster Abbey,<ref name=odnb/> following which he was buried in the churchyard of St Mary the Virgin at Bathwick, Somerset.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
FamilyEdit
In 1876, Callaghan married Edith Saumarez; they had one son and three daughters.<ref name=heath38/>
ReferencesEdit
SourcesEdit
External linksEdit
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