had already been appointed to succeed Callaghan in December when the latter’s extension of command would be fulfilled, and Callaghan welcomed the intimation that Sir John should immediately act as his second in command. But, after Callaghan had gone north, Mr. Winston Churchill and Prince Louis of Battenberg [q.v.], the first sea lord, came to the conclusion that, if war broke out, Jellicoe should at once take over the supreme command; they were doubtful if Callaghan’s physical strength would be equal to the immense strain. Sir John Jellicoe on leaving London for the fleet at Scapa Flow 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 decision 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 Sir John Jellicoe himself. 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 he left amid the regret of 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, with a heavy reckoning, anything which the enemy could attempt. 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 G.C.B. in 1916, and in April 1917 he was promoted to the rank of admiral of the fleet and flew his flag as such for one year, a unique record in the annals of naval history.
When Callaghan hauled down his flag in March 1918 he had completed fifty-two years’ service, of which only eleven in all had been spent in shore billets; while 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 thus essentially and primarily a seaman, with a remarkable knowledge, learnt by continual and exceptional experience, of tactics, of gunnery, and of cruiser and destroyer operations. 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, Sir John Jellicoe, on many public occasions testified handsomely to the high state of efficiency in which he found the fleet when Callaghan was so abruptly relieved by him. Callaghan’s naval service ended, he 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.
He died in London 23 November 1920 at the age of sixty-eight, and was accorded a public funeral in Westminster Abbey. He married in 1876 Edith Saumarez, daughter of the Rev. Frederick Grosvenor, rector of Dunkerton, Bath, and had one son and three daughters.
[Admiralty records; Sir Julian S. Corbett, (Official) History of the Great War. Naval Operations, vol. i, 1920.]
CAMPBELL, JOHN DOUGLAS SUTHERLAND, ninth Duke of Argyll (1845-1914), governor-general of Canada, was the eldest son of George Douglas, the eighth Duke, by his wife, Lady Elizabeth Georgiana Sutherland Leveson-Gower, eldest daughter of the second Duke of Sutherland. He was born at Stafford House, London, 6 August 1845, and educated at the Edinburgh Academy, Eton, St. Andrews, and Trinity College, Cambridge. As Marquess of Lorne he entered parliament in 1868, the liberal member for Argyllshire, and for three years was private secretary to his father, then secretary of state for India. In 1871 he married Princess Louise, fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. In 1878 he was appointed governor-general of Canada. His period of office was uneventful, his chief constitutional problem arising soon after his arrival in Canada. Mr. Luc Letellier, lieutenant-governor of Quebec, had dismissed a provincial conservative government on grounds thought inadequate by the Dominion conservative ministry, and Sir John Macdonald, the prime minister, recommended Letellier’s removal. Lord Lorne showed reluctance, and on Macdonald’s advice consulted the Colonial Office; he was instructed to act on the opinion of his constitutional advisers. Relations between the governor and prime minister were cordial, Macdonald writing, ‘Lord Lorne is a right good fellow, and a good Canadian’. He was conscientious, interested in the country and a fair speaker, but did not show a strong personality.
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