Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Astley Callaghan (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 circa 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. Naval career Early career Born the grandson of Daniel Callaghan MP, and the son of Captain Frederic Marcus Callaghan (an Irish landowner) and Georgina Frances Callaghan (née Hodgson), Callaghan joined the Royal Navy as a cadet in the training ship in January 1866. Promoted to midshipman on 15 October 1867, he joined the screw frigate at Liverpool later that month. He then transferred to the corvette on the East Indies Station in October 1870. Promoted to sub-lieutenant on 15 April 1872 and to lieutenant on 15 April 1875, he joined the corvette on the East Indies Station in June 1877. 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. He attended the gunnery school in 1880 and then joined the staff there in 1882. 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, he became executive officer in the battleship , flagship of the North America and West Indies Station in 1888. He went