Difference between revisions of "George Astley Callaghan"

Revision as of 09:27, 28 May 2008

Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Astley Callaghan, G.C.V.O., K.C.B. (21 December, 1852 – 23 November, 1920) was an officer of the Royal Navy.

Early Life and Career

Callaghan was born in London on 21 December, 1852, the third son of Captain Frederic Marcus Callaghan, J.P., of Lotabeg, County Cork, and his wife, Georgina Frances, daughter of Captain James Hodgson, of the East India Company. He entered the Royal Navy in January, 1866 on the Britannia, and was promoted Sub-Lieutenant in April, 1872, lieutenant in 1875. His first appointment as lieutenant was to the Ruby, East India station. During this commission one of the ship's boats capsized in the Irrawady, and Callaghan earned Admiralty commendation by his gallant conduct, which saved the lives of several of the crew. He married in 1876 Edith Saumarez, daughter of the Revd Frederick Grosvenor, rector of Dunkerton, Bath. They had one son and three daughters.

In 1880 Callaghan returned to Britain to qualify in gunnery, and was afterwards on the staff of the port gunnery schools. In 1885 he was again appointed to the Ruby, this time as first and gunnery lieutenant on the South American station. He was promoted commander in 1887, and in 1888 was appointed to the Bellerophon, the North American station flagship, in which he returned home in 1892. That year he was given the command of the Alacrity, yacht of the commander-in-chief, China station, and he was promoted captain in 1894.

From then on Callaghan's rise was rapid. He served for three years (1894–7) as naval adviser to the inspector-general of fortifications at the War Office. In July 1897 he took command of the Hermione, first in the channel squadron and later on the China station, where he remained until 1901, having been given command of the Endymion, a first-class cruiser, in 1899. The Boxer uprising broke that year. Admiral Sir Edward Hobart Seymour was then commander-in-chief on the China station; and, on the decision of the powers to intervene, brigades were landed from various ships to relieve the legations in Peking (Beijing). This was found impracticable with the small force available, and Seymour returned to Tientsin (Tianjin). The following month a combined naval and military relief force was formed under Lieutenant-General Sir Alfred Gaselee. Callaghan was given the command of the British naval brigade which, after severe fighting and much hardship from the heat, succeeded in entering Peking in time to relieve the legations. He was mentioned in dispatches and received the CB (1900).

After commanding the Edgar in manoeuvres as senior officer of the cruisers, Callaghan was appointed to the Cæsar, first-class battleship, on the Mediterranean station, at the time when Sir John Fisher was commander-in-chief. He returned in 1903 to be captain of Portsmouth Dockyard. This shore service lasted only one year, as, by his own request, he was sent again to sea so that his last year as captain should be spent in familiarizing himself with the most recent developments in the fleet. He commanded the Prince of Wales in the Mediterranean during 1904–5 and was at this time also made aide-de-camp to the king.

In July 1905 Callaghan was promoted rear-admiral, and hoisted his flag in the Illustrious as rear-admiral in the Channel Fleet in 1906. From then he was in uninterrupted command afloat for eight years. The years immediately preceding the First World War were a time of strenuous activity in the navy. Fisher was carrying out his reforms and redistributions, shifting the centre of power from the Mediterranean, and forming new fleets in home waters. Callaghan was to play an important part in these schemes from the outset. In 1907 he was given the command of the new 5th cruiser squadron, the ‘tip of the spear’ as it was designated, hoisting his flag in the Leviathan, and afterwards transferring it to the newly built Shannon. Having spent eighteen strenuous months in bringing his squadron up to high efficiency, Callaghan hoisted his flag in the Duncan as second in command of the Mediterranean station (1908). During this command he was created KCVO (1909) and was also made grand officer of the Crown of Italy for his services in connection with the Messina earthquake. He became vice-admiral in 1910 and, on returning to home waters, immediately hoisted his flag in the King Edward VII, commanding the 2nd division of the Home Fleet. The next year he was made commander-in-chief, Home Fleets, with the acting rank of admiral. He retained this great command, of the largest naval fighting force which, up to that time, had ever acted under one flag, during the three years of incessant preparation for war, his appointment being extended in December 1913 for the further period of one year. Recognizing the impossibility of controlling such a large fleet by signals from his flagship Callaghan began to decentralize the command of his fleet, giving permission to his squadron commanders to act within general instructions. He was awarded the GCVO after the inspection of the fleet by King George V at Weymouth in 1912, and the grand cordon of the Légion d'honneur on President Poincaré's official visit to the fleet in 1913.

In July 1914 Callaghan was in command of the mobilized naval forces at Portsmouth on the occasion of another royal inspection, when 460 ships assembled under his flag. This great fleet was about to disperse when the European situation became critical. Callaghan was summoned to the Admiralty, while the fleet meanwhile left for Scapa Flow. At the Admiralty the disposition of the fleet and the plan of operations in the event of war were discussed with him. Sir John Rushworth (later Earl) Jellicoe had already been appointed to succeed Callaghan in December, when the latter's extension of command would be completed, and Callaghan welcomed the intimation that Sir John should immediately act as his second in command. But, after Callaghan had gone north, Winston Churchill and Prince Louis of Battenberg, the first sea lord, decided that, if war broke out, Jellicoe should at once take over the supreme command; they doubted that Callaghan's physical strength would stand the immense strain. Although he was sixty-two, however, he had shown no signs of ill health, unlike Jellicoe. Even if Jellicoe were the better man, the removal of so experienced and able an officer at the outbreak of war was an unnecessary risk. He should, in all conscience, have been left in command for the remainder of his term, saving Jellicoe much anxiety, and completing his education in fleet command. However, when Jellicoe left London for the fleet at Scapa Flow, he was given sealed instructions directing him to take over the command. Soon after midnight on 3–4 August, when war was certain, telegrams were sent to both admirals informing them of the decisions and instructing Callaghan to haul down his flag and hand over the command. Much sympathy was felt throughout the fleet for Callaghan, and protests were made by all the principal admirals who had served under him, and by Jellicoe himself. This last reflected a friendship of long standing, and mutual respect. Callaghan was loved by all who served under him. It was a bitter disappointment to Callaghan not to command in war the fleet to which he had devoted his energies and abilities for so long, and his departure saddened all those under his command. Although it was not his fortune to wield the weapon which he had brought to so fine an edge, he could at least lay it down knowing it was ready and in place to meet and repulse any enemy attack. Callaghan was immediately appointed for special service at the Admiralty and also first and principal naval aide-de-camp to the king. This was followed on 1 January 1915 by his appointment as commander-in-chief at the Nore, a post which he held until March 1918. He received the GCB in 1916, and in April 1917 he was promoted admiral of the fleet and flew his flag as such for one year, a unique record.

When Callaghan hauled down his flag in March 1918, he had completed fifty-two years' service, of which only eleven had been spent in shore posts, and for the last twelve years he had kept his flag flying continuously, except for the few months at the beginning of the war. He was essentially a sea officer, with a remarkable knowledge, formed by continual and exceptional experience, of tactics and gunnery, and of cruiser and destroyer operations. His appreciation of new technology was very much of an ‘empirical’ nature. His fairness, judgement, common sense, equable temperament, modesty, and charm of manner, apart from his great fleet knowledge, rendered him a fine commander-in-chief. His successor in command of the Grand Fleet, Jellicoe, on many public occasions testified to the efficient state of the fleet when Callaghan was so abruptly replaced. After his naval service was ended, Callaghan was in 1919 appointed by the king Bath king of arms, and he officiated at the historic chapter of the Order of the Bath held in Westminster Abbey in the spring of 1920.

Callaghan died at 11 Cadogan Court, Chelsea, on 23 November 1920 at the age of sixty-eight, and had a public funeral in Westminster Abbey. He was survived by his wife. Considered by all his contemporaries to be an outstanding fleet commander, Callaghan had a very human side that earned the love and loyalty of all those who served under him. He was an officer of high accomplishment in all branches of the service. He was able to rise above the jealousies and feuds of the Fisher era to play a vital role in building the fleet up to wartime efficiency. His supersession at the outbreak of war in 1914 denied him the opportunity to achieve greatness.