Editing George Callaghan (section)

==Naval career==
===Early career===
Born the grandson of [[Daniel Callaghan (politician)|Daniel Callaghan MP]], and the son of Captain Frederic Marcus Callaghan (an Irish landowner)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie:8080/LandedEstates/jsp/estate-show.jsp?id=3084|title=Estate: Callaghan|publisher=Landed Estates|accessdate=13 December 2014|archive-date=14 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214151418/http://landedestates.nuigalway.ie:8080/LandedEstates/jsp/estate-show.jsp?id=3084|url-status=dead}}</ref> and Georgina Frances Callaghan (née Hodgson), Callaghan joined the Royal Navy as a [[cadet]] in the training ship {{HMS|Britannia|1820|6}} in January 1866.<ref name=odnb>{{cite ODNB|id=32247|title=Sir George Callaghan |date=2004}}</ref> Promoted to [[midshipman]] on 15 October 1867, he joined the [[screw frigate]] {{HMS|Liffey|1856|6}} at [[Liverpool]] later that month.<ref name=heath38>Heathcote, p. 38</ref> He then transferred to the [[corvette]] {{HMS|Wolverine|1863|6}} 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>{{London Gazette|issue=24204|page=2342|date=30 April 1875}}</ref> he joined the corvette {{HMS|Ruby|1876|6}} on the East Indies Station in June 1877.<ref name=heath38/> In this post he was awarded a commendation by the [[Admiralty (United Kingdom)|Admiralty]] for saving the lives of sailors after a boat capsized in the [[Irrawaddy River]].<ref name=heath38/>

He attended the gunnery school {{HMS|Excellent|shore establishment|6}} 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>{{London Gazette|issue=25772|page=15|date=3 January 1888}}</ref> he became executive officer in the [[battleship]] {{HMS|Bellerophon|1865|6}}, 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 {{HMS|Alacrity|1885|6}}, yacht of the Commander-in-Chief, [[China Station]] in 1892.<ref name=heath38/> Promoted to [[Captain (Royal Navy)|captain]] on 1 January 1894,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=26471|page=7580|date=29 December 1893}}</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 {{HMS|Hermione|1893|6}} in the [[Channel Fleet]] in 1897 and commanding officer of the cruiser {{HMS|Endymion|1891|6}} on the China Station in 1899.<ref name=heath38/>

===Boxer rebellion===
In April 1900, Callaghan became commander of a [[naval brigade]] sent ashore to form an element of a larger expedition under Lieutenant-General [[Alfred Gaselee|Sir Alfred Gaselee]] as part of the British response to the [[Boxer Rebellion]]. The expedition entered [[Beijing|Peking]] and successfully rescued the legations which had been held hostage there.<ref name=heath38/> Callaghan was [[mentioned in dispatches]] and appointed a [[Order of the Bath|Companion of the Order of the Bath]] on 9 November 1900.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27246|page=6927|date=13 November 1900}}</ref>

===Higher rank===
[[File:Underwood & Underwood © 1906 No. 10495 - Messina - The once beautiful Water-front after the earthquake dett.jpg|thumb|left|The carnage after the [[1908 Messina earthquake|Messina earthquake]]; Callaghan assisted with the provision of aid to survivors]]
Callaghan became commanding officer of the cruiser {{HMS|Edgar|1890|6}} and commanded her in manoeuvres in Summer 1901 before becoming commanding officer of the [[battleship]] {{HMS|Caesar|1896|6}} on the [[Mediterranean Fleet|Mediterranean Station]] in December 1901.<ref name=heath38/> He went on to be Captain of [[HMNB Portsmouth|Portsmouth Dockyard]] early in 1904 and commanding officer of the battleship {{HMS|Prince of Wales|1902|6}} on the Mediterranean Station shortly thereafter.<ref name=heath39>Heathcote, p. 39</ref> He was appointed naval [[aide-de-camp]] to [[Edward VII|the King]] on 25 April 1904.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27676|page=3081|date=13 May 1904}}</ref> Promoted to [[rear-admiral]] on 1 July 1905,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27814|page=4700|date=7 July 1905}}</ref> he became Second-in-Command, Channel Fleet, with his flag in the battleship {{HMS|Illustrious|1896|6}}, in 1906 and commander of the 5th Cruiser Squadron, with his flag in the armoured cruiser {{HMS|Leviathan|1901|6}}, in 1907.<ref name=heath39/> Appointed a [[Royal Victorian Order|Commander of the Royal Victorian Order]] on 3 August 1907,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28048|page=5390|date=6 August 1907}}</ref> he went on to be Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet with his flag in the battleship {{HMS|Duncan|1901|6}} in 1908.<ref name=heath39/> In the latter role he assisted with the provision of aid to survivors of the [[1908 Messina earthquake|Messina earthquake]], which had caused the loss of circa 123,000 lives, in December 1908 for which he was advanced to [[Royal Victorian Order|Knight Commander of the Royal Victorian Order]] on 30 April 1909<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28246|page=3277|date=30 April 1909}}</ref> and appointed a Grand Officer of the [[Order of the Crown of Italy]] on 15 April 1912.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28599|page=2702|date=16 April 1912}}</ref> Promoted to [[vice-admiral]] on 27 April 1910,<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28362|page=3063|date=3 May 1910}}</ref> he became Second-in-Command of the [[Home Fleet]], with his flag in the battleship {{HMS|King Edward VII}} later that month.<ref name=heath39/> He was advanced to [[Order of the Bath|Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath]] on 24 June 1910.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28388 |page=4475 |supp=y |display-supp=Supplement to the London Gazette Extraordinary |date=23 June 1910}}</ref>

Callaghan became Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet, with his flag in the battleship {{HMS|Neptune|1909|6}} and with the acting rank of [[admiral]] in November 1911.<ref name=heath39/> Following an inspection of his fleet by [[George V|King George V]] he was advanced to [[Royal Victorian Order|Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]] on 11 May 1912<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28607|page=3475|date=14 May 1912}}</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>{{London Gazette|issue=28722|page=3753|date=27 May 1913}}</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 War===
[[File:HMS Iron Duke.png|thumb|right| The battleship {{HMS|Iron Duke|1912|6}}, Callaghan's flagship as Commander-in-Chief of the [[Home Fleet]]]]
At the outbreak of the [[World War I|First World War]] in July 1914, Callaghan set sail in his flagship, the battleship {{HMS|Iron Duke|1912|6}}, for his war station at [[Scapa Flow]]. There he met his successor-designate [[John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe|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 (United Kingdom)|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]] {{SMS|Goeben}} and the [[light cruiser]] {{SMS|Breslau}}. He referred the matter to a [[court-martial]] which ultimately found the case against Troubridge not proven.<ref name=heath39/>

Callaghan was appointed [[List of First and Principal Naval Aides-de-Camp|First and Principal Naval Aide-de-Camp to the King]] on 11 September 1914<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=28902|page=7293|date=15 September 1914}}</ref> and became [[Commander-in-Chief, The Nore]] in January 1915.<ref name=heath39/> He was advanced to [[Order of the Bath|Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath]] on 3 June 1916<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=29608|supp=y|page=5553|date=2 June 1916}}</ref> and was promoted to [[Admiral of the Fleet (Royal Navy)|Admiral of the Fleet]] on 2 April 1917.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=30008|page=3206|date=3 April 1917}}</ref>

Callaghan retired in March 1918 and became [[Bath King of Arms|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's Church, Bathwick|St Mary the Virgin]] at [[Bathwick]], [[Somerset]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead/casualty/4028730/callaghan-sir-george-astley/|title=Sir George Callaghan|publisher=CWGC Casualty record|accessdate=16 June 2018}}</ref>

[[File:George Callaghan.jpg|thumb|right|Sir George Callaghan as Second-in-Command of the [[Home Fleet]]]]