Callaghan became commanding officer of the cruiser and commanded her in manoeuvres in Summer 1901 before becoming commanding officer of the battleship on the Mediterranean Station in December 1901 . He went on to be Captain of Portsmouth Dockyard early in 1904 and commanding officer of the battleship on the Mediterranean Station shortly thereafter . He was appointed naval aide-de-camp to the King on 25 April 1904 . Promoted to rear-admiral on 1 July 1905 , he became Second-in-Command , Channel Fleet , with his flag in the battleship , in 1906 and commander of the 5th Cruiser Squadron , with his flag in the armoured cruiser , in 1907 . Appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order on 3 August 1907 , he went on to be Second-in-Command of the Mediterranean Fleet with his flag in the battleship in 1908 . 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 and appointed a Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy on 15 April 1912 . Promoted to vice-admiral on 27 April 1910 , he became Second-in-Command of the Home Fleet , with his flag in the battleship later that month . He was advanced to Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath on 24 June 1910
Messina earthquake
1908 Messina earthquake
George Callaghan