Stan Callaghan was born 4 December, 1897, one of five
sons and a daughter of Joseph Patrick Callaghan and Croasdella Cruess
Callaghan. Joseph Callaghan was the proprietor of the North City Co-operative
Outfitting and Hat store at 9-10 North Earl Street and the family lived at ‘Ferndene’,
Stradbrook, Blackrock. In 1906, Stan
began his education at Stonyhurst, Lancashire, along with his brothers, Joseph
and Owen. However, they were brought home to Dublin where Stan and Owen entered
Belvedere College October, 1910. Stan was described by those who knew him at
Stonyhurst as
…quick-witted, full of fun and humour—one of those who baffle the
pedagogue, for his obvious talent would not be not be brought to bear upon his
books. He was fearless almost to the point of recklessness, but of a very
generous nature, and loyal to his resolution.
In the year before the outbreak of the hostilities of
World War I, Stan worked with wireless technology, work that particularly
suited his intelligence, and held a position in the Marconi Co. In the opening
months of the Great War, Stan joined the RFC and trained at Hendon, north-west
of London. Seeing that Stan had good knowledge of wireless and Morse code, the
authorities there sent him to the Southern Command where he trained the artillery
operators to calculate correct ranges from aeroplane observations. By the
summer of 1915, The Belvederian
reported that Stan was a lieutenant with the RFC.
Stan was ordered to the front where he was stationed
with the No 5 Squadron at Ypres Salient. Stan served throughout the struggles
at Ypres working on the use of wireless as a means of signalling, a technology
still in experimental stages. He also took many aerial photographs which
provided much valuable information. His successes as an observer gained him the
distinction of being the first officer to wear the observers’ ‘wing’.
The Belvederian of 1916 reported that
Captain
[note the promotion] Stan C. Callaghan R.F.C., has had no lack of excitement at
the front. He is in the Flying Corps since the beginning of the war, and works
in the capacity of observer.
Twice, as Stan was acting as observer on a plane, the
sparking from his wireless apparatus ignited the petrol vapour and the
aeroplane caught fire. He and his pilot survived both incidents but on the
second occasion Stan received bad burns on his face and legs. Following these
dangerous situations, Stan occupied the post of Equipment Officer—the youngest
to hold that position in the RFC. His efficiency at that post led to further
promotion—it is here that he received his captaincy—and he was sent to the post
of Inspector of Wireless to the Northern Group (North of England and Scotland).
Before assuming his new post, he went home to Dublin
on leave. He was in the city for the commencement of the Easter rebellion,
1916. He was taken as a prisoner by the 1st Battalion of the Irish
Volunteers and held for a week. The report of The Belvederian of 1916 was as follows:
He
was home on leave for Easter and spent the time as a prisoner in the Four
Courts. He was motoring along the quay when he was held up and the motor car
was taken (it was afterwards recovered), and he himself led to the Four Courts
as a prisoner. He was treated well by the insurgents, but did not find his
holiday very much of a ‘rest’.
He
was not alone—Lieutenant Edward Halpin was also taken prisoner by the Four
Fours garrison and was released at 2am, Sunday, 30 April.
Following his imprisonment in Dublin during the
rising, Stan spend six months with the Northern Group. He was then sent to the
more important post of Inspector of the Wireless to the Southern Group. The Belvederian of 1917 reported that he was
then stationed at Salisbury with RFC. Further promotion was to follow when Stan
was sent to the Imperial RFC Canadian headquarters in Toronto, June 1917, as
Brigade Wireless Officer.
Only a few days after his arrival, Stan travelled to Camp
Hoare, the RFC airfield at Camp Borden,
about one hundred miles north of Toronto, to assist in the installation of
wireless. On 27 June, 1917, Stan was killed in an aeroplane accident. He was
twenty-one years old when he died. The
Belvederian of 1918 published a short obituary and noted that ‘he
showed such remarkable aptitude for this work [wireless work with the RFC] that
a particularly successful future seemed in store for him.’ His body was interred at St. Mary’s Roman
Catholic Cemetery in Barrie, Ontario.
The
Northern Advance newspaper of Barrie
published the following article 5 July, 1917:
Airman
Killed at Camp Hoare
Another
member of the flying corps at Camp Hoare met death last Wednesday evening and a
Cadet injured.
Capt.
Dan [sic.] Callaghan, who had come to the flying camp in connection with some
wireless installations, was about to return to headquarters at Toronto. Instead
of returning by rail, decided to accompany Cadet Francis, who intended flying
to the city. The ascent was made but before the machine had gained the safety
of height the engine stalled and the plane started to side-slip. In the ravine
of Bear Creek a wing struck a tree and was snapped off when the whole machine
buckled and crashed down, the engine striking Callaghan in the back of the head
and pinning him to the earth. He lived for about three-quarters of an hour
after the accident, but never regained consciousness. Rev. Father Kelly, Roman
Catholic chaplain, was on hand in time to administer the last sacraments.
Francis,
who was considered one of the most promising of the aviators in training, had
previously flown for 62 hours without an accident. His left leg was broken and
he sustained other minor injuries, but he is resting easily.
The
dead man who had been at the front since the beginning of the war and had won
distinction as an expert on wireless from airplanes, was attached to the
Headquarters of the R.F.C. in Toronto. He comes from Ireland, his mother
resides in Dublin. Cadet Francis' home is in Victoria, B.C.
On
Friday the remains of the deceased were brought to Barrie by a detachment of
the aviation corps. Funeral service was held in St. Mary's R.C. Church and
internment in St. Mary's cemetery.
The
name of ‘Capt. Callaghan, Stanislaus Cruess R.F.C.’ can be found on page 576 of
the Book of Remembrance: First World War, in the Memorial Chamber on the second level of the Peace
Tower on Parliament Hill, Ottawa.
Stan’s younger brother, Owen, was a bright student at
Belvedere and entered TCD when he left. However, he joined the RFC, and
received his ‘wings’ very quickly. The
Belvederian of 1916 noted that Owen, ‘who
was at Belvedere last year, is in the same corps, and is now flying at
Salisbury Plains.’
As
Second-Lieutenant Owen Cruess Callaghan flew his single-seater aircraft across
the Channel to the front, 26 August, 1916, he was engaged in a fierce aerial
battle with two enemy aircrafts. He shot one down and damaged the other, coming
out alive himself. On the following day, 27 August, Owen was out on a
bomb-dropping mission on the Bois de Havringcourt when he went missing. It was
suspected that he landed by mistake on a German aerodrome. The Belvederian on 1917 reported that Owen was
missing
since August, 1916. He was then on a bomb-dropping expedition in a
single-seater on the Western Front.
Ten
months later, the War Office announced that Owen Cruess Callaghan was presumed
dead. He was eighteen years old. Owen is commemorated at the Arras Flying
Services Memorial at Pas de Calais in France. The Belvederian of 1918 ran not one but two Callaghan obituaries
that year—Stan and Owen. Their words regarding Owen are poignant:
All
Belvederians of recent years who knew him will deeply regret his death. He is
one of the youngest and most recent pupils of the school who has been killed.
All will sympathise with his family in their double bereavement. R.I.P.
Owen’s
name can be found on the war list monument of TCD in the 1937 Reading Room for
postgraduate students.
The
Major of Owen’s unit, 19th Squadron RFC, wrote that ‘Owen had the
makings of a splendid pilot, being full of dash and energy—a regular thruster.’
Owen, like Stan, had a very promising career expected in his future and Owen
was ‘one of the most popular youngsters in the mess’.
A
third Callaghan brother met his death in a machine of the RFC. Joseph Cruess
Callaghan was born 4 March, 1893 and attended Stonyhurst with his brothers. On
their return to Dublin, Joseph attended the Royal Veterinary College of
Ireland. He was living in Texas at the beginning of the Great War but returned
to Ireland and joined the Royal Munster Fusiliers. He transferred to the RFC in
later 1915. He was wounded in action 31 July, 1916. Though he was granted sick
leave December, 1916, he was fit for service again February, 1917, and was
posted to the Auxill School of Aerial Gunnery at Turnberry in Scotland. He was
made a captain in autumn, 1917, and further promoted to Major and Squadron
Commander that December. By April, 1918, he was commander officer of no 87 Squadron.
Joseph
was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry in action. His
citation reads:
He
displayed marked courage and skill on several occasions in carry out night
bombing operations. On one occasion he extinguished a hostile searchlight.
He
launched a solo attack on a formation of German aircrafts, with as many as
twenty-five fighters, 2 July, 1918, near Contay in France. In this engagement,
Joseph’s plane was shot down in flames. His grave is at Contay British
Cemetery. In letters to his Joseph’s parents, his companions described the
third Callaghan brother to lose his life on duty:
He
was one of the most gallant officers I ever met, and had a wonderful power of
infusing those that serve under him with the same spirit. His squadron worshipped
him, and we all fully realise the terrible loss he will be to you.
In
the Daily Mirror, 2 August, 1918, carried photographs of the three deceased
Callaghan brothers under the heading ‘Pro Patria’. The piece described them as
‘the most united brothers who ever lived.’
