William Edward Callaghan was the son of Edward and Evelyn Callaghan. He was born about 1921. William Callaghan was serving with 220 Squadron of R.A.F Coastal Command as a member of the aircrew onboard a Hudson II. On the evening of 27th December 1940, the aircraft ran out of fuel whilst returning to base. The crew abandoned the aircraft by parachute two to three miles from the coast. Sergeant Callaghan was one of two men to be lost at sea. He was 19 years old.
Further Information
William Edward Callaghan was the son of Edward and Evelyn Callaghan.
William Callaghan was born about 1921.
William was a member of Ballindrum Pipe Band, Moneymore.
William Callaghan was serving with 220 Squadron of R.A.F Coastal Command as a member of the aircrew onboard a Hudson II. He was along with Sergeant J L Rees, Sergeant J Lane and Squadron Leader (Pilot) A E Rogenhagen.
During a night patrol on the evening of 27th December 1940 (Ser No T9373), the aircraft overstayed its prudent limit of endurance and ran out of fuel on the return to base. The crew abandoned the aircraft by parachute two to three miles south-east of Trevose Head. The Hudson finally crashed at 9.29pm near Towan Head, Newquay, Cornwall.
Squadron Leader (Pilot) A E Rogenhagen fractured an arm and a leg during the bale-out and Sergeant J Lane survived the jump. Sergeant Jack Lawrence Rees (751429) and Sergeant William Callaghan were thought to have been lost at sea.
Sergeant William Callaghan was 19 years old. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the Runnymede Memorial in Surrey, England.
Sergeant William Callaghan is also commemorated on the St Eval Book of Remembrance. The book commemorates those who lost their lives whilst serving at RAF St Eval.
The CWGC record Sergeant William Callaghan as the son of Edward and Evelyn Callaghan of Portadown, County Armagh.
